LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

BS^s-^- — 

©fmp* ©apttrij^rf 

. Shelf ..... 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



ABIDE IN CHRIST. Tkoughts on the Blessed Life of 
Fellowship with the Son of God. i6mo, cloth, $i.oc. 

LIKE CHRIST. Thoughts on the Blessed Life of Con- 
formity to the Son of God. A sequel to "Abide in 
Christ" i6mo, cloth, $1.00. 

WITH CHRIST in the School of Prayer. Thoughts on 
our Training for the Ministry of Intercession. i6mo, 
cloth, $1.00. 

THE CHILDREN FOR CHRIST. Thoughts for Chris- 
tian Parents on the I onsecration of the Home Life. 
i6mo, cloth, $1.25. 

HOLY IN CHRIST. Thoughts on the Calling ot God's 
Children to be Holy as He is Holy. i6mo, cloth, $1.00. 

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. i6mo, cloth, $1.25. 

THE NEW LIFE. Words of God for Young Disciples 
of Christ. i6mo, cloth, $1.00. 

WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE? i6mo, cloth, 75 cts. 

BE PERFECT. i'6mo, cloth, 75 cents. 



Qinscu IB. £. ftanbolpf) # (Eompaut), 

182 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK. 



HAVE MERCY UPON 



TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH 
BY 

Key. J. P. LILLEY, M.A., Arbroath 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME 



THE PRAYER OF THE PENITENT IN 
THE FIFTY-FIRST PSALM 
EXPLAINED AND APPLIED 



BY 

REY ANDREW MURRAY 

it 

AUTHOR OF * ABIDE IN CHRIST,' ' THE HOLIEST OF ALL,' ETC., ETC. 




1 To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed 
upon us in the Beloved ' 



NEW YOKK 




ANSON D. F. BANDOLPH & CO. 

182 FIFTH AVENUE 



Copyright, 1895, by 
ANDREW MURRAY 



PRESS OF 
EDWARD O. JENKINS" SON, 
NEW YORK. 



TBANSLATOK'S NOTE. 



rjIHE Christian Church has always taken a deep 
interest in the devotional exposition of certain 
portions of the Scriptures. There are some chapters 
of the Word of God that may be said to mark fresh 
epochs in the development of the spiritual life ; and it 
has been found a most helpful practice for the minis- 
ters of the gospel to take them up in the worship of 
flie congregation and make them verse by verse the 
theme of exhortation and appeal. 

The Fifty-first Psalm is on all hands acknowledged 
to be one of these cardinal portions of the Bible. 
Yet the number of detailed expositions of its meaning 
is comparatively very small. This result has unques- 
tionably arisen from the felt difficulty of doing any- 
thing like justice to its searching and humbling utter- 
ances. Much as the Psalm has been used in preach- 
ing, ministers have felt so keenly the inadequacy of 
their efforts to set forth the fullness of its teaching, 
that they have been glad to leave their lectures un- 
published. No more diligent student of ' the Treas- 
ury of David ' ever lived than Mr. C. H. Spurgeon. 
Yet in writing of his study of the Psalms, he did not 
hesitate to use these words : ' In commenting upon 



6 



TRANSLATOR' S NOTE. 



some of them, I have been overwhelmed with awe, 
and said with Jacob, " How dreadful is this place ! it 
is none other than the house of God." Especially 
was this the case with the Fifty-first, I postponed 
expounding it week after week, feeling more and 
more my inability for the work. Often I sat down 
to it, and rose up again without having penned a line. 
It is a bush burning with fire, yet not consumed ; 
and out of it a voice seemed to cry to me : " Draw 
not nigh hither : put off thy shoes from off thy feet." 
The Psalm is very human, its cries and sobs are of 
one born of woman ; but it is freighted with an in- 
spiration all divine, as if the great Father were put- 
ting words into His child's mouth. Such a Psalm 
may be wept over, absorbed into the soul, and ex- 
haled again in devotion ; but, commented on — ah ! 
where is he who having attempted it cau do other 
than blush at his defeat i ' 

It is under no sense of having been able to succeed 
where others have failed that the honored minister of 
the Dutch Reformed Church at ^Wellington has been 
led to present the following exposition of this great 
Psalm. A glance at the tender and beautiful preface 
which he wrote for his own congregation will show 
that he cherishes very different thoughts. It is only 
because he feels that this Psalm contains a message 
which the present state of spiritual life in and around 
the Church sorely needs, that he has been led to send 
forth this volume. The late Dr. Duncan of the Xew 
College, Edinburgh, used to tell his students that the 



translator's note. 



7 



one great heresy which afflicts the Church and keeps 
back the conquest of the world for Christ is defective 
views of sin. It is because this Psalm contains such 
an unreserved revelation of the soul's experience 
under the felt guilt, misery, and corruption entailed 
by sin, conjoined with an equally marvelous insight 
into the loving-kindness and tender mercy of 'the 
God of all grace,' that this fresh attempt to unfold its 
meaning has been made. 

From this aim it follows that the whole exposition 
has been of set purpose written with the utmost sim- 
plicity. It is not ; wisdom of words,' but words of 
wisdom set in sentences which every reader can un- 
derstand at once, that this hard-driven, weary genera- 
tion needs. We shall be greatly surprised if the pe- 
rusal of this little book does not prove to many the 
starting-point alike of a deeper conviction of sin and 
a more holy and consecrated life. Such is the prayer 
of the translator ; and he is sure that it will be echoed 
wherever Mr. Murray's writings are read. The Eng- 
lish version of his book on The New Life has re- 
cently been translated into Japanese, and has received 
a cordial welcome from the native Christians. Shall 
we not expect that the following wise and penetrat- 
ing study of this matchless Psalm may find its way 
over as wide a circle ? For so the word of the Lord 
has free course and is glorified. 

J. P. L. 

Abbroath, 1890, 



PEEFACE. 



TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NETHERLANB RE- 
FORMED CONGREGATION IX CAPE TOWX. 

' The grace of God be with vou all.' 

"DELOYED in the^Lord. receive in this prayer for 
blessing the greeting with which I offer yon this 
book, with the assurance of mv heartfelt longing and 
prayer for you all. It may at the same time serve as 
an intimation of the pregnant subject and the blessed 
aim in connection with which I have been stirred up 
to present this volume to you. 

The grace of God : a more glorious topic could not 
possibly be named. In that one word Grace all that 
is wonderful and worthy of adoration in God 3 and all 
that is glorious and desirable for man. finds its high- 
est expression. The grace of God : what does it not 
include I The everlasting compassion with which the 
heart of the Father was filled for us, until it at last 
overflowed in the gift of His beloved Son ; the un- 
searchable richness and fullness of the grace which is 
seen in the love and the redemption of His Son ; and 
the blessed gifts and operations of the Spirit, of which 
every one of the innumerable host of the redeemed is 

9 



10 



PPwEFACE. 



a witness and an example : all that is precious and 
blessed in the faith, the experience or the hope of be- 
lievers, and all that is inexpressible in the expectation 
of that eternal happiness which is beyond all under- 
standing — all this is the glory of the grace of God. 
He that knows, possesses, and finds it has life and sal- 
vation. 

In this little work I have endeavored to set before 
yon something of the glory of the grace of God, alike 
in its first principles and its higher operations, ac- 
cording as this Psalm has given me opportunity. 
The misery from which grace redeems, the work that 
it does, the way in which it may be obtained, the 
blessing and the joy and the power which it gives, 
this and very much more is presented in it so simply, 
so intelligibly, and so strikingly, that I am assured 
the consideration of it cannot possibly be fruitless. 

That it is also not unneedful, I know by experi- 
ence. From many a conversation in my pastoral in- 
tercourse, alike in other congregations and here in 
the city, it has become very plain to me that there 
are many, even well-meaning people, who have very 
defective, if not entirelv wrono-, ideas about the grace 
of God. By this means they suffer inestimable loss. 
Wrong views about grace exercise an unhappy influ- 
ence upon the whole life. I do not desire that they 
should simply receive what I have to say to them 
about grace, but what I desire is that they should go 
with me to the Word of God and understand what 
God says about His grace, in order that our thoughts 



PREFACE. 



11 



about that which grace is and does may entirely agree 
with the thoughts of God. Beloved, would that we 
could indeed endeavor to lay aside all merely human 
conceptions, all inherited ideas about grace, and with 
childlike submission inquire what God Himself says 
of it. He who thus yields himself with humble 
prayer to be taught of God, and who holds himself 
prepared to receive simply and without contradiction 
what God says, shall truly learn to understand grace. 
Amidst all the various words of this Psalm, that one 
word 'grace 5 remains its overmastering thought. 
The grace of God : would that it may be also for our 
souls the one topic that takes possession of us. 

And what of the object which I have in view in 
limiting you to this topic ? The grace of God be 
with you All. Yes : that the grace of God may be 
with you, and may be your portion and your joy, is, 
in truth, my desire. 

I am afraid that there may be some among you 
who shall read this book that have not yet known the 
grace of God in truth, that have not, indeed, found 
grace, because they have not yet sought it from the 
heart. They have long since heard of the grace of 
God, and yet it still remains strange to them. To all 
such I would fain set forth the desirableness and the 
indispensableness of the grace of God. In the light 
of God's grace, I would fain turn their attention to 
their sins, if by any means they might learn to de- 
plore them with the penitent of this Psalm. And 
yritb their eyes fixed upon their sins, I would fain 



12 



PKEFACE. 



turn their hearts to think of the grace of God, if by 
any means they might learn to desire it, so that their 
earnest prayer might thus be : ' Have mercy upon 
me, O God.' I would fain come to them with this 
prayer for blessing — The grace of God be with you ; 
it is seeking you, it is for you, it will bless you, and 
be with you. You have need of it, and there is no 
hope or salvation for you if you do not have it. Pray, 
suffer it to come to you and be with you. Yes : be- 
loved friends who have not this grace of God, with 
all earnestness I will cry to God and ask it from Him 
for you — The grace of God be with you. Pray, do 
not repel me when, as your minister and your friend, I 
ask you to listen to me, while I proceed to exhibit the 
grace of God to you, and in God's name endeavor to 
impress it upon your heart that there is grace also for 
you. 

I am quite sure that there are others among you 
who lift up the prayer of this Psalm with all earnest- 
ness, and yet do not taste the joy and the blessing 
which ought to follow upon the prayer. These still 
retain wrong ideas concerning the work which grace 
is to do, the way in which it manifests itself, and the 
conditions on which it may be expected and received. 
To all such I would fain point out what a complete 
provision there is in the grace of God just for their 
needs as sinful and very wretched souls. I desire to 
make them see how suitable, how free, how simple, 
how certain, how mighty, and how completely within 
their reach the grace of God is, I would also have 



PKEFACE. 



13 



them know that their desires are certain to bring them 
to faith, and their faith to a blessed experience. I 
would, above all, direct them to this prayer for bless- 
ing: 'The grace of God be with you.' You are 
praying for it, you are seeking for it as if it were afar 
off. It is for you ; it is very near you ; simply re- 
ceive it ; only believe ; suffer grace to be with you. 
And especially do I wish for all who may read this 
little volume to make this prayer with my eye fixed 
upon the God of all grace — 6 The grace of God be 
with you. 5 

I pray and believe that there may nevertheless be 
among you not a few who already from the outset in 
hearing the prayer, ' Have mercy upon me, O God,' 
have learned to know in their own experience the 
blessed grace of God. For you not less than for 
others have I written these pages. This Psalm, which 
is ordinarily regarded as chiefly intended for those 
who are penitent, or who are seeking salvation, con- 
tains such glorious representations of all the rich 
blessing which the grace of God will implant in the 
soul, of the joy which it gives, the power it exercises, 
the confession it draws out, the God-glorifying thanks- 
giving which it enables the soul to yield, that it can- 
not be other than helpful for you also who believe to 
understand what we may be by the grace of God. O 
brothers and sisters, come and see with me in this 
Psalm the height to which grace exalts the penitent, 
and hear what the new song is which it puts into their 
lips in place of the prayer of the publican. Come 



14 



PEEFACE. 



and understand what your God will do for you. 
' Grace be with you 5 : experience it in its full power 
and in all its blessed operations, in all, especially, that 
it is to be for you. Only give yourself unreservedly 
to it, and do not remain content with anything less 
than all the riches which it will bestow upon you. 

' The grace of God be with you all. 5 "With this 
prayer I commend both you and this little volume to 
the Lord. May He graciously use it for blessing in 
the congregation where He has set me to w r ork. May 
He also grant that w T here I labored in earlier days, or 
where the living voice can no longer be heard, it may 
not remain unblessed. 

Tour minister and servant in the Lord, 

Andrew MurraYo 



CONTENTS. 



HAVE MEEGY UPON ME: 
Introduction. 

PAGE 

I. A Psalm of David for the Chief Musician 19 

II. A Psalm of David : when the Prophet Nathan came 

unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba 25 

I. The Great Petition. 

DAT 

1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lov- 

ing-kindness (ver. la) 34 

2. According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies 

blot out my transgressions (ver. 15) 38 

3. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity (ver. 2a).. . 43 

4. And cleanse me from my sin (ver. 25) 48 

II. The Confession. 

5. For I acknowledge my transgressions (ver. 3a) 55 

6. And my sin is ever before me (ver. 35) 60 

7. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned (ver. 4a) 66 

8. And done that which is evil in Thy sight ; that Thou 

mayest be justified when Thou speakest, and be 
clear when Thou judgest (ver. 45) 71 

9. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 

mother conceive me (ver. 5) 76 

10. Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts (ver. 

6a) 81 

11. And in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to 

know wisdom (ver. 65) 86 



16 CONTENTS. 

III. The Prayer for Forgiveness. 

DAY PAGE 

12. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (ver. 7a) 93 

13. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (ver. 75). . 98 

14. Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones 

which Thou hast broken may rejoice (ver. 8) 103 

15. Hide Thy face from my sins (ver. 9a) 108 

16. And blot out all mine iniquities (ver. 95) 113 

IV. The Prayer for Renewal. 

17. Create in me a clean heart, O God (ver. 10a) 121 

18. And renew a right spirit within me (ver. 105) 126 

19. Cast me not away from Thy presence (ver. 11a) 131 

20. And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me (lib) 136 

21. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation (ver. 12a). 141 

22. And uphold me with a free Spirit (ver. 125) 146 

Y. The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving. 

23. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways (ver. 13a) 153 

24. And sinners shall be converted unto Thee (ver. 135) . 158 

25. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God 

of my salvation (ver. 14a) 163 

26. And my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness 

(ver. 145) 168 

27. O Lord, open Thou my lips ; and my mouth shall 

show forth Thy praise (ver. 15) 173 

28. For Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I 

give it ; Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering 
(ver. 16) 178 

29. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken 

and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise 
(ver. 17) 183 

30. Do goodln Thy good pleasure unto Zion : build Thou 

the walls of Jerusalem (ver. 18) 188 

31. Then shalt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteous- 

ness, in burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering : 
Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar 
(ver. 19). 193 



INTRODUCTION. 

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David: when Nathan 
the prophet came unto him, after he had gone 
in to Bathsheba. 



17 



' The history of the Psalms is the history of the Church, and the 
history of every heart in which has burned the love of God. It is 
a h'story not fully revealed in this world, but one which is written 
in heaven. Surely it is holy ground. We cannot pray the 
Psalms without realizing in a very special manner the com 
m union of saints, the oneness of the Church militant and the 
Church triumphant. We cannot pray the Psalms without having 
our hearts opened, our affections enlarged, our thoughts drawn 
heavenward. He who can pray them best is nearest to God; 
knows most of the spirit Christ ; is ripest for heaven.' 

— J. J. S. Perowxe. 



18 



I. 

THE PSALMS. 

A Psalm of David for the Chief Musician. 

THE Book of Psalms is the innermost sanctuary, the 
* thrice Holy Place of the sanctuary of the Bible. 
In the rest of the Bible we receive instruction from 
God on the way to draw near to Him. In the Book 
of Psalms, God sets open the door of His secret 
dwelling-place, and He shows to us how His believing 
people come to Him, speak with Him, and enjoy 
fellowship with Him. There we see the throne of 
grace surrounded with suppliants, and we learn to 
pray. There is the grace of God manifested in the 
most glorious way. 

To use another similitude, it is with the Book of 
Psalms as it is with the lowest class of an infant 
school. In the higher classes, which are all somewhat 
advanced, the teacher says what they have to learn. 
They must know how to help themselves, and have 
need of his help only from time to time. But with 
the youngest class, which is learning the ; A, B, C,' 
a different method is taken. Every letter must be 
pronounced before them, and, indeed, singly dictated 
to them. The teacher must put the sounds for them 
into their mouth, until they learn to pronounce and 

19 



20 



HAVE MERCY UPOJS T ME. 



know them for themselves. It is in this way that the 
Lord God deals with us in the Psalms. He comes as 
the Faithful One, still nearer to us than in the rest of 
the Bible. He bows still more tenderly to our weak- 
ness. He Himself puts into our mouth the very 
words with which we may come to Him. He is aware 
that we do not know how and what we should pray 
for ; therefore He comes and tells us for what we ought 
to pray. And when we take these words of His into 
our mouth, and continue to express them with the 
desire to understand them in order that we may feel 
and pray as it is there expressed, then He gives us 
His blessing, and His Spirit makes the words living 
and powerful in our souls. Precious Psalms, in which 
God's Holy Spirit Himself teaches us to pray. 

This book will become yet more precious to you 
when you consider in what way the Lord God has 
dictated to you the words in order that you may pray 
after them. Has He sent to us from His high heaven 
directions for prayer as if He had ordained them there 
for us ? No : in that case they would not be truly 
human, nor would they be adapted to our condition 
upon the earth. No : the Holy Spirit has taught us 
to speak truly in the language of men, with the feel- 
ings of men, and from the heart of men. The Lord 
has taken men of like passions with ourselves, and 
sinners such as we are, in every possible condition of 
need and misery. He has taught them by His Holy 
Spirit to utter these prayers, and to commit them to 
writing ; and now He offers them to us as a Prayer- 



THE PSALMS. 



21 



Book adapted to our need. Adapted to our need, I 
say, because they come from His Spirit, and are there- 
fore divine ; and yet just as genuinely human, because 
they come also from those who are our flesh and blood, 
and are in everything like ourselves. That, too, is the 
reason why the Book of Psalms has been so precious 
to all sinners who are anxious about salvation, and has 
also proved such a blessing to them : the reason, too, 
why it will become precious to you, my readers, if 
you earnestly desire to seek after God. In other 
books of the Bible much is presented to you about sin 
and conversion, and the conflict and blessedness of 
believers. But here you may see and hear these be- 
lievers themselves. In the Book of Psalms you. have 
the key of their inner chamber. There you may see 
them in their intercourse with God. There you hear 
how one confesses sin and entreats forgiveness ; how 
another praises God for His grace, and pours out his 
heart before Him. There you may kneel down along- 
side them and pray along with them. Your heart will 
become inflamed by their repentance and their faith. 

But what do I say ? It is not only the inner cham- 
ber of believers that is open to you in the Psalms ; it 
is the innermost recesses of the heart. In solitude 
with God and in the light of His countenance, they 
lay all their misery naked before Him ; and there you 
may see as in a mirror what wretchedness there must 
be in your own heart of which you still know so little. 
The whole hidden conflict arising from the sense of 



22 



HATE MERCY TTPOX ME. 



guilt, as well as conversion and faith, is there pre- 
sented to you in living and visible form. There you 
may see how it goes with a soul who is under the 
working of God's Grace. Xever shall you learn to 
know sin, especially your own sin, aright until you 
have learned to agree with the deep confession of the 
suppliants of the Psalms. And never shall you learn 
to glory in God and rejoice in His grace, so much as 
when you have learned to give praise and thanks with 
the poets of the Psalms. 

It is for this reason, also, that souls desirous of sal- 
vation have at all times very deeply loved the Psalms, 
and that many of the most eminent of the saints of 
God have declared that the Psalms become to them, 
the longer they use them, the more precious and the 
more glorious, and that there is no means of grace more 
rich and stable than the right use of the Psalms. 

Tet why should I speak of men ? Think of the 
Son of God. It is He who has taught us the use of 
the Psalms, and sanctified them to us. When in the 
heaviest stress of His conflict He Himself has to 
lament, 6 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
Me ? ' was that not a word of the Twenty-second Psalm 
written to meet His condition ? And, when dying, 
He cried, ' Father, into Thy hands I commend My 
spirit,' was that not a word from another Psalm ? 
And if the man Christ Jesus had need of the words 
of the Psalms to comfort and strengthen Himself in 



THE PSALMS. 



23 



prayer to His Father, how much more must you, my 
friend, and I have our poor hearts prepared by these 
divine prayers to draw near aright to God. 

The blessing arising from the use of these words, 
then, is great and sure — ' The word is nigh thee, saith 
the Lord, in thy mouth and in thy heart.' God has 
in His grace so adapted the Word to us that wherever 
any one takes these words into his lips and uses them, 
and then at once ponders them and expresses them, 
there a way is prepared for the Word to enter from 
the mouth into the heart. Through the gateway of 
the mouth the Word comes into the heart. Tou shall 
experience that the words of God are the living seed 
which germinates and shoots out roots, and springs 
upward and bears fruit. Your heart is the soil : you 
have only to open it, and you will experience that it 
is indeed the word of God which worketh mightily in 
you who believe. 

My reader, I speak to you as one anxious to be 
saved. I invite you to meditate with me on the Fifty- 
first Psalm. Let us learn to pray this Psalm together. 
Let us ponder it verse by verse, learning it by heart 
and receiving it into our spirit, as well as uttering it 
before God upon our knees. For David this Psalm 
was the wav out of the depths of sin to the blessed- 
ness of forgiveness, to a rich experience of the grace 
of God. This Psalm can also bring you and me into 
this blessing. This Psalm will do it for us, if we use 



24 



HAVE MEKCY UPON ME. 



and follow it faithfully. Reader, for God's sake, for 
your own soul's sake, I entreat you, prepare yourself 
with all earnestness to learn by heart and to pray this 
Psalm. The blessing which it will bring you is in- 
conceivably great. 



II. 



PSALU LI. 

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David: when Xathan the 
prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 

TX the Psalter of David we find psalms of different 
kinds. There are psalms of thanksgiving for 
praising and thanking the Lord ; there are psalms of 
instruction to teach ns one portion or another of divine 
truth ; there are supplicatory psalms in which God's 
help is entreated in the midst of distress or sorrow ; 
and there are penitential psalms in which, after con- 
fession of sin and guilt, entreaty is made for forgive- 
ness and redemption. 

The Fifty-first is one of the seven Penitential 
Psalms, and, indeed, the chief among them. To un- 
derstand it aright, we must especially attend to the 
position in which David stood when he wrote it. The 
superscription above the Psalm tells us this. David 
had fallen very deeply into sin. He had committed 
adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Even 
this was not all. He had tried to conceal his sin ; and 
when he did not succeed in this, he had Uriah put to 
death. Even this was not the worst element in his 
case. Had he but really felt and confessed his sin, all 

25 



26 



HATE MERCY UPON 3IE. 



might have been well ; but for well-nigh a whole year 
he continued hardened. It was only after the birth 
of his child, when God sent the prophet Nathan unto 
him, that he came to a true sense of his sin. Nathan 
had drawn from him a sentence of condemnation 
against a rich man who had robbed a poor man of his 
only pet lamb. It was only after the king had uttered 
the sentence, and Nathan had exclaimed, "Thou art 
the man,' that he humbled himself, and acknowledged, 
C I have sinned against the Lord.' 

The prophet had thereupon announced to him in 
the name of God : 'The Lord has taken away thy sin. 
Thou shalt not die.' This, however, was not enough 
for David. So amazed was he now at the sight of 
what he had done, that he went to the Lord in deep 
self-abasement to confess his sin and entreat from God 
to bestow upon him. by His Holy Spirit, His divine 
grace for the forgiveness of sin and renewal of his heart. 
It was at this juncture the Psalm was written, that is, 
' when the prophet Nathan came unto him, after he 
had gone in to Bathsheba.' 

The reason, then, why I would fain have you learn 
to understand and take home to your heart this Psalm 
is, because I think that its lessons are so necessary and, 
indeed, indispensable. We are taught in our Cate- 
chism that there are three elements in the spiritual 
life which we must know if we would live and die as 
saved souls. These three elements are. How great 
our sin and misery is ; how we can be delivered from 
them ; and how we should live in thankfulness to God 



FIFTY-FIRST PSALM. 



27 



for this deliverance. And nowhere shall we find these 
great lessons concerning misery, deliverance, and 
thankfulness more clearly explained than in this 
Psalm. Let us pray God to open our hearts to them, 
and to imprint them deep in our spirit. 

The first lesson is this : how terrible the might, the 
power, and wretchedness of sin are. Think but for 
a moment who David was : the man after God's own 
heart; 'the man who was exalted on high; the 
anointed of the God of Jacob ; and the sweet Psalmist 
of Israel ' (2 Sam. xxiii. 2). Think of the wonders 
God had wrought by him and had manifested toward 
him. In what deep trials he had been purified ; how 
highly God had honored him, and how gloriously he 
had praised God ; and yet see what became of him 
whenever God abandoned him for a moment and gave 
him over to the bent of his own heart. Into what 
fearful sin has he fallen, and how long does he remain 
hardened in it ? Nothing but the Word of God by 
the prophet can bring him to an awakening. 

I fear that there are many amongst us who do not 
know their sins, and have but imperfect ideas of 
them. The thought fills me with great sorrow ; for, 
until they know their sins, they cannot really come to 
confession of guilt or the experience of mercy. They 
shall die in their sin. When it is too late — in eternity 
itself, they will see what sin was. And that is the 
reason why L as a servant of the Lord, come to you 
with this Psalm. I would fain set before you the sin 
of David, and, like Nathan, say to you, ' Thou art the 



28 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



man.' I would show you, if indeed, perhaps, you do 
not yet know it, how corrupt the nature of man is ; 
and how your heart, respectably as you may live 
in external things, is, nevertheless, the source of all 
sin, and makes you capable of all sin, if God does not 
keep you ; and especially I would fain show you how 
fearful the power of sin is to blind a man. You do 
not know your sin until the Spirit of God teaches you 
to know it. You do not know the real nature, the 
abominableness and the curse of sin, until God makes 
it known to you ; and therefore, I entreat you, come 
with me, listen to the prayer of David, a man of God. 
You shall learn what you do not yet know of sin and 
its fearful misery. 

And there you will further learn what a glorious re- 
demption is to he found with God. Meagre thoughts 
about sin and the confession of sin lead one to think 
little of mercy and the redeeming power of God. It 
is supposed to be something that is self-evident, and 
that may be very easily taken for granted, that one 
should obtain forgiveness and enter into heaven ; but 
in this Psalm you will learn something different. You 
will see that great things must be done in you. David 
feels that he must be washed by God from his sin, and 
that his transgressions must be wholly blotted out. 
He asks further that he may be entirely purified with- 
in, and may be renewed in heart, and that the Spirit 
of God may dwell in him always. 

My reader, come with me and you will hear from 
David what must take place in you before you can be 



FIFTY-FIRST PSALM. 



29 



saved. You must be washed in Jesus* blood, and be 
born again by His Spirit. And this Psalm will teach 
you that this glorious redemption is prepared for you ; 
that however sinful and helpless you may feel, you 
have access in prayer to a God who can and will work 
all of this in you.. The prayer of David is indeed de- 
signed by the Spirit of God to teach yon how you 
must come to God, and what yon may certainly expect 
and receive from God. 

And then you will also further learn what a thank- 
ful life that of the redeemed soul is. You will un- 
derstand in this Psalm how gloriously one who is par- 
taker of the redemption of God feels himself knit to 
God. It becomes his one desire to praise and to serve 
this God. It is a joy to him to make known to others 
what God has done for him, and that not as a burden 
which is laid upon him, but as a work of love of which 
his heart has need, and for which the grace of God 
gives the power. You will also understand how grace 
will sanctify, not only the hidden life of the heart, but 
the outward life and conversation and walk ; so that » 
the redeemed soul may be known for the honor of 
God as one who through God has become an entirely 
new man. And you will also especially see how all 
this is wrought bv grace, and given to a sinner of like 
feelings with you and in the same misery with you. 
Yea, in this Psalm you will see a man first confessing 
his sin in the deepest misery and anxiety, then under 
the working of the grace of God receiving redemption, 
and finally glorifying God as a redeemed and emanci- 
pated soul. 



30 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



Beloved reader, this way you must also tread if you 
would be saved. And I long for your salvation. 
Therefore it is that I call you to join me in the study 
of this Psalm, in order that you may see how God 
saves a soul. Be not afraid of the earnest words which 
we shall speak to you about sin. The man who is not 
consciously a sinner and an ungodly soul, Christ will 
never save. Be not afraid concerning the difficulty 
of the way of salvation ; you shall at length see how 
God will do everything of which you have need. Be 
not afraid concerning the high holiness and the life 
full of thanksgiving in which you must walk. You 
will see that God demands nothing which He does 
not first bestow, and that the service to which He 
calls you is a blessed and joyful service of willing 
love, love which is awakened by His love shed abroad 
in the heart. 

Gracious God, may we truly learn all this. 



I. 

THE GREAT PETITION. 

1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving- 

kindness ; according to the multitude of Thy tender 
mercies, blot out my transgressions. 

2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me 

from my sin. 



31 



' After Thy loving -kindness, Lord, 

have mercy upon me : 
For Thy compassion great, blot out 
all my iniquity. 

Me cleanse from sin, and thoroughly wash 

from mine iniquity : 
For my transgressions I confess ; 

my sin I ever see.' 

— Scottish Psalter, 



32 



First Day. 



Pab* nwrtg trpan tm, # $>oti. 

'Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving-kind- 
ness/ — Ver. la. 

TJERE we have the first word of the penitent sinner. 
" In this utterance we have the key of true prayer. 
In this word we also find the key to the whole Psalm. 
He who does not sincerely fall in with this word will 
never understand the rest of the Psalm. The prayer 
of David will be for him as a sealed book. 

And we must not think that this word may be un- 
derstood so easily, and, as it were, of itself. During 
the long period before David was brought to humilia- 
tion by the Spirit of God to know his sin aright, he 
could not of himself use this simple prayer, — only 
the soul which has been brought to an awakening by 
God Himself can be in a position to use this word in 
prayer with the whole heart. And he only who uses 
it in prayer from the heart can truly understand it. 
This must especially never be forgotten. David has 
learned to utter this prayer upon his knees with a 
broken heart, in bitter sorrow for his sin. Much 
reading and much thinking may be necessary, but 

33 



34 



HATE MERCY UPOX ME. 



they are not enough for the right understanding of 
this prayer. It must be uttered upon the knees, with 
self-abasement, and to God. Then only can it become 
a blessing to us. Let us therefore look continually 
to God for His light and teaching, until by using it in 
prayer we have made this Psalm our own. 

' Have mercy upon me, 0 God? The true suppli- 
ant believes that there is mercy with God. That with 
God there is mercy, is the greatest wonder of the 
divine being. The omniscience of God is a wonder. 
The omnipotence of God is a wonder. God's spotless 
holiness is a wonder. Xone of these things can we 
understand. But the greatest wonder of all is the 
mercy of God. Here upon the earth we think but 
lightly of this, and imagine that it cannot be other- 
wise, and are but little surprised at it. But it is not 
thus in heaven. There men are humbled at the 
thought of it, and never cease to adore and thank 
God for His mercy. For there God is known as the 
Holv One. It is known there that it is His honor to 
maintain His law, and to manifest Himself against 
sin as a consuming fire. It is known there what sin 
is : the shameful rejection of the Perfect One — of 
His law and His love. It is known there how en- 
tirely deserving man was of being rejected by God, 
and therefore it is that in this mercy of God such 
high glory is seen. That He should still have com- 
passion for our fallen race ; that He Himself should 
pay the ransom for our sin at the cost of the blood of 
His Son ; that he should long after the ungodly, for- 



THE GEEAT PETITION. 



35 



give them everything, and receive them to be His 
children, — all this is so great that the angels cannot 
marvel sufficiently over such mercy. And it was be- 
cause David had heard that there was such mercy 
with God that he draws near to Him with this prayer. 
We also must endeavor to understand and believe that 
there is mercy with God. 

Have mercy upon me, O God. The suppliant also 
feels that he has need of mercy. Mercy is something 
that is entirely undeserved, a boon to which we can- 
not lay the least claim. David feels that his sin is so 
shameful, and makes him so guilty in the eyes of the 
holy God, that it would be equitable in God if he 
should be condemned. Heaven would be bound to 
praise God if He vindicated His honor and His law 
in this manner. Man has nothing of which he can 
boast. If he has served God at an earlier period, that 
only makes his guilt the greater. It is not God alone 
that condemns him ; he condemns himself. He feels 
that he is entirely deserving of the judgment of God, 
for his sin had shown how he had withdrawn from 
God notwithstanding all the goodness of God towards 
him. He feels that it will be a marvel of mercy if 
such a sinner is still thought worthy to be made a 
friend of God. Tea, the true suppliant feels that he 
has need of mercy ; that nothing but free grace alone 
can be his hope. 

Have mercy upon me, O God. The true suppliant de- 
sires also that mercy may he shown to him. He knows 
that there is mercy, and he feels that he is one who 



36 



H^VE MERCY UPON MB. 



has need of mercy ; a fitting object of mercy. And 
yet this is not enough for him : he has need of more. 
He desires that God should show His mercy towards 
him, and make him conscious that this mercy is also 
intended for him. He knows that the showing of 
mercy must be a personal action of God towards the 
soul. That God is merciful, he cries, that I know 
there is great mercy with God, that there is mercy 
for all, can still bring me no rest. What I need to 
make the anxious heart peaceful is that I should know 
God is merciful to me. Be merciful to me. yes, to me, 
O God of mercy. 

This longing is in full harmony with what God's 
word teaches us on these points. The word speaks 
always of finding mercy, obtaining mercy, receiving 
mercy, _partalcing of mercy, having mercy: and 
looked at from the side of God as an action, it is called 
giving mercy, showing mercy. Sin is a personal mis- 
deed committed against the God with whom every 
one of us has to do. Conversion, in like manner, is 
the coming to this God to receive redemption from 
Him in order that He may show mercy to the soul in 
taking away sin. 

I am afraid that on these points there prevails in 
the case of many a great error. They comfort them- 
selves with the thought that God is merciful. They 
have, however, no idea that this of itself will avail 
them nothing. This mercy must be given to them 
by God, and must be experienced in the soul. They 
forget that there is a work which mercv is to do for 
the soul, and that he who is not partaker of it cannot 



THE GEEAT PETITION. 



37 



enter heaven. They forget that God is the Righteous 
One as well as the Merciful ; that ere His righteousness 
can liberate a single soul His holy law must be ful- 
filled, and the sinner, every one for himself, must have 
part in the righteousness of Christ, and consequently 
in the acquittal of God. And thus with the word of 
mercy upon his lips, many a one nevertheless goes on 
to meet destruction : not because there is no mercy 
with God even for him, but because he has never ob- 
tained part in the personal experience of the work of 
divine grace. 

My fellow-sinner, if you would learn to pray for 
mercy, hold fast these thoughts. First of all, that 
there is mercy with God : let your soul be filled with 
the thought that with God there is mercy, and that it 
is the highest joy of His heart to show mercy ; and 
further, that you have need of mercy. In the sequel 
of this Psalm you will learn more fully how great 
your need is. Without mercy you will be eternally 
and unspeakably wretched. But especially is this 
thought of the utmost importance, that what you 
must have is a personal experience of this mercy as 
manifested toward you. Something must find place 
betwixt you and your God. You must have mercy. 
Without this you may not rest content. God must 
do something for you. He must show you mercy. 
Let God's great mercy and your great misery be the 
two arguments which cause you to utter this prayer 
all the more earnestly, ' Have mercy upon me, O 
God, according to Thy loving- kindness/ until you 
have found mercy. 



Second Day. 



Jpafa nurtg ttpott mt, (8? (loir, 

1 According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out 
my transgressions/ — Ver. lb. 

this second half of the verse David gives a more 
precise explanation of what he meant in the first 
in the prayer, 'Have mercy upon me.' He knew 
that there was something that mercy could and would 
do for the sinner. It was his desire to experience 
this precious work ; therefore he prayed, 6 Blot out my 
transgressions. 5 

It is of the utmost importance that I should under- 
stand this. The general prayer for mercy is not 
enough. The Lord desires that we should know and 
say what we would have mercy to do for us. Was it 
not thus, for example, with the blind man who cried 
to Jesus, 6 Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy 
upon me 5 ? Jesus called him to Himself and asked 
him, ' What wilt thou that I should do to thee % ' He 
had already prayed for compassion, for mercy, but 
this was not enough. The Lord desired still further 
to obtain from him the specific statement of what it 
particularly was that His compassion was to do for 

38 



THE GEEAT PETITION. 



39 



him. Thus it is still. It is not enough for us to re- 
main content with a general petition for mercy. The 
Lord will test the earnestness and the reality of our 
desire for mercy by finding whether we also know 
what we would fain have, and whether we have also 
taken pains to know what mercy has promised and 
can give. 

And it is just at this point that many souls err. 
Here, indeed, lies the reason that they pray for mercy 
so long and yet receive no answer. They have either 
very undefined or entirely wrong thoughts about that 
which mercy can do. Some think that the first work 
of mercy is to comfort and enlighten the heart. It is 
not so. Later on in this Psalm David prays for com- 
fort and peace ; but at the outset he prays for some- 
thing entirely different. Others imagine that the 
work of mercy consists in the reformation of the heart 
and the life. This also is not the first element of 
blessing. Later on David asks for this also, but it 
does not stand in the first place. Others, again, sup- 
pose that they must ask for mercy, and trust in it that 
it will bring them into heaven when they die ; but 
that in this life we cannot know if we have mercy. 
David teaches us that, as with the previous idea, this 
is not what he desired. "What he wished to have, 
what the Spirit of God desires that we should be 
taught to desire by His prayer as the first manifesta- 
tion of mercy, was this : ' According to the multitude 
of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.' 

Our transgressions must be Hotted out by God 



40 



HAVE MEECY UPON ME. 



Himself. This is the conviction in which David 
drew near to God. He feels that transgression must 
be blotted out ; that he himself is not equal to this 
work ; that mercy must do it for him. An expression 
in Ex. xxxii. will make this clear to us. There Moses 
says to God : ' Now, then, if Thou wilt forgive their 
sin — ; but if not, Hot me out of Thy hook which 
Thou hast written? Our sins also are written in 
God's book. The law of God takes reckoning of 
every transgression that we commit. In the great 
account-book of heaven they stand against us a record 
of our guilt. David knew that there could be no in- 
tercourse with the holy and righteous God so long as 
this old guilt was not abolished, was not blotted out. 
He knew that mercy could not convert or change the 
sinner, or bring him to heaven, unless his guilt was 
first blotted out. The wrath of God must first be 
appeased. The old guilt of the past must first be 
taken out of the way. The sinner must have acquittal 
and the forgiveness of his sins. This is the first work 
of divine grace. Without this, God the Holy Judge 
cannot receive the sinner into His friendship ; and 
therefore he prays : ' Have mercy upon me. Blot out 
my transgressions. 5 

There are many who suffer incalculable loss because 
they do not understand this. Perhaps you also, my 
reader, are amongst the number. I shall tell you 
whence this misunderstanding arises. It is because 
men remain unacquainted alike with the holiness of 
God and with the dreadful character of sin. This is 



THE GKEAT PETITION. 



41 



why many suppose that if they but have repentance, 
and seek to live a better life, and pray to God, that 
God will on account of this great change receive 
them. It is not so, my friend. That you be- 
come changed is so far good. That you pray to be 
changed by the Spirit of God is still better. But this 
is not enough, simply because it does not clear off the 
old guilt. That you should wish to get quit of your 
guilt does not cancel it either with God or with man. 
^Vhat you must know before all else is this : how it 
stands with the guilt of your former life. Does it 
remain in God's book against your name ? Yes or 
no ? Is it blotted out ? Tes or no ? Until the soul 
knows that it is blotted out it can have no true peace. 

Here then is manifest what we must entreat in the 
prayer: ' Have mercy upon me.' The blotting out 
of guilt is indispensable. We cannot work this out 
by our repentance. God has promised to bestow it. 
His promise is : ' I, even I, am He that blotteth out 
your transgressions for My name's sake, and will no 
more remember your sins' (Isa. xliii. 25). 

This is what in the Xew Testament is called being 
' justified ' ; as, for example, in the Parable of the 
Publican. He prayed to God, 'Be merciful unto 
me,' and he went down to his house justified. This 
was what grace did for him. This was the answer to 
his prayer. He went down to his house with the for- 
giveness of his sins. Like David, he could sing when 
he obtained this answer to his prayer : ' Blessed is he 
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 



42 



HAVE MERCY UP01S T ME. 



Blessed is the man to whom the Lord iniputeth not 
iniquity' (Ps. xxxii. 1, 2). 

Beader, does this appear to you too great and too 
wonderful? Remember that the tender mercies of 
God also are great. It is on God that David calls. 
He prays: 'According to the multitude of Thy ten- 
der mercies.' Do you come also and experience that 
this is indeed the great, the wonderful, the divine ele- 
ment in the grace of God ; that it will blot out all 
your guilt freely and at once, and will remove it en- 
tirely out of God's book. O come and experience 
that this is the blessing and the power of mercy, to 
bestow the forgiveness of sins for Jesus' sake. 



Third Day, 



Jpafo wcg tipon me, # (§>0ir. 

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity.' — Yer. 2a. 

THIS verse must make the meaning of that which 
precedes still more clear to us. David entreats 
mercy. He expects the manifestation of it in the for- 
giveness of his sins. He longs that his transgressions 
should be blotted out of God's book, and taken away 
from before His eyes. But the sin on which he looks 
back presses also upon his soul. It not only stands 
recorded in God's book, but it has stained his con- 
science, and cleaves to him as an impurity which makes 
him loathsome in his own eyes. Therefore it is that 
he prays to be freed from the sense of guilt, from this 
consciousness of inner impurity. He knows that this 
same mercy can bring sin to naught at once in God's 
book and in his own conscience, and that the act of 
God in heaven is also an act of God in his own in- 
nermost spirit. Therefore he prays : ' Wash me 
thoroughly from mine iniquity.' He shows us that he 
knows that the only way in which his sin can be re- 

43 



44 



HAVE MERCY UPO^ ME. 



moved is by a spiritual act of the grace of God. This 
must wash him from his iniquity. 

And how came David to use such an expression for 
the work which he desired to be accomplished by 
grace ? It was by the external washings and sprink- 
lings of the Old Testament that he was led to this 
prayer. Under the old covenant every priest had to 
wash himself as often as he had to draw near to God 
in sacrifice. Every individual member of the congre- 
gation who had in any way but come into contact 
with that which was unclean, must also first be washed 
before he could mingle as one that is clean in the 
midst of the people. He knew that these washings 
had been intended by God to be symbolic representa- 
tions of what must take place in the heart of man. 
They were a symbol of cleansing by the blood of 
Jesus Christ. The Xew Testament speaks of Jesus 
as of ' Him who hath washed us in His blood.' Of 
believers upon the earth it says : ' Ye are washed ' ; 
of the redeemed in heaven : ' They have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lord.' 
In the full light of these expressions let us ponder this 
prayer : 6 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity.' 

And what now is meant bv our having to be washed 
in the hlood of Jesus? The word of God has taught 
us in what way the sprinkling of blood under the old 
covenant was a symbol of the cleansing from sin. 
Every one who had sinned was guilty of death. But 
God gives permission that he should bring a lamb or 
another victim to die in his place. When, then, the 



THE GREAT PETITION. 



45 



blood of that victim was shed, it was the proof that 
the punishment of death which the man had deserved 
had been undergone; and when it was sprinkled upon 
the altar, it was as much as to say that this death, this 
blood-shedding, was accepted with God as valid, and 
that his sin was washed away. 

And thus was the blood of Christ shed as a propiti- 
ation for our sins. We are all under sentence of death. 
We have sinned, and made ourselves guilty under 
the law of God. The law has uttered its curse over 
us as transgressors, and can by no means withdraw its 
demands until they are fulfilled. God would be no 
righteous God and no perfect Judge if He did not 
maintain the authority of His law and uphold its 
power, if He should welcome transgressors of His law 
into favor. And therefore no one can inherit heaven 
who is not by the law pronounced clean. And no one 
can possibly be pronounced clean who has not fulfilled 
its demands; and never has there been any man who 
of himself has been sufficient for this. 

Therefore the mercy of God steps in betwixt us 
with the gift of His Son. Christ has in our place ful- 
filled the demands of the law. He was our Eepre- 
sentative, who appeared in our nature, to do in our 
stead all that was required of us. He was our Surety, 
who paid the price in our place. He was the Lord of 
the law, but was born under law to fulfill its demands. 
He has honored it by a perfect obedience. By dying 
an accursed death He subjected Himself to its sentence 
in our behalf. He has borne our punishment. He 



46 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



has taken its curse upon Himself, and thereby He has 
rendered what He had to demand from us. In His 
Death, His Blood, His Soul, His Life is poured out ; 
and, as was the case with the sacrifice, in the outpour- 
ing and the sprinkling of His blood lies the proof that 
atonement has been made. 

And now it conies to this simply : that we should 
be washed in that blood. And what does this mean ? 
Just as it does not ayail any one who wishes to be 
cleansed from his impurity that there flows past him 
a stream of water, if he does not enter into it, if he 
does not come in contact with the water, and there 
have his impurity washed away ; so is it with the 
blood of Christ. You must have a personal part in it. 
Tour soul must come into contact with that holy blood 
in order to experience the power of it. Christ is not 
come, as many suppose, to abolish the claim of the 
law, but to fulfill it. The law has a claim upon you, 
upon you personally and individually, and will ask 
you if you have obtained part in the righteousness 
and atonement of the Lord Jesus. The law will in- 
quire : Have you, yes, you, been sprinkled and washed 
with the blood of Christ? If you have been thus 
washed, then you are also acquitted, not because the 
law has no claim upon you, but because you too are 
one for whom it sees that Jesus has fully met that 
claim. If you are not washed in that blood, then it 
avails you nothing that Jesus has died. 

My fellow-sinner, see now what is necessary. See 
now what must have place with you, else there is no 



THE GREAT PETITION. 



47 



hope for you. Still does the Lord Jesus say : 'If I 
wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. 5 With all 
your praying and seeking, with all your piety, you 
shall not be saved unless the everlasting God does in 
you this spiritual wonder — unless you are washed in 
the blood of Christ. Do not, I pray you, despise the 
precious blood of Christ any longer, but hasten to 
God with the prayer of David : ' Wash me thoroughly 
from mine iniquity.' 

Awakened soul, who art in perplexity with thyself 
and thy sin, pray, hear these glad tidings. Tsot only 
has the blood of Jesus been shed, but God Himself 
is prepared to wash you in that Hood. God Himself 
will by the Holy Spirit bring your soul into an inner 
spiritual contact with that divine blood ; will enable 
you to appropriate and experience the power of that 
blood. It is the work of God : He will do it. Only 
believe what the Word says to you. Believe that 
the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin ; believe that 
without any worthiness in yourselves you can by the 
imputation of that blood be in a moment freed from 
all your guilt. Believe that God is in thorough 
earnest when He offers that blood even to you, and in 
that faith in Jesus' blood let your prayer become all 
the more urgent: 'Wash me thoroughly from mine 
iniquity.' 4 Through faith in His blood we are freely 
justified by His grace, through the redemption that is 
in Christ Jesus.' (Rom. iv. 24). 



Fourth Day. 



JpEtfo mmv VL^on me, (D <§o& # 

1 And cleanse me from my sin.' — Ver. 25. 

TT is easy to see that David's sin weighs heavily upon 
his soul. For the third time he pours out his de- 
sire before the Lord that His grace might liberate him 
from sin. Let it be understood that he does not 
speak of liberation from punishment. He does not 
speak even in the least degree of comfort in the 
restoration to God's favor. ]STo: it is sin itself which 
is so terrible to him, and this he would fain have 
taken away. And that he felt deeply what sin was is 
manifest specially from this, that every one of the 
three utterances which he uses represents sin in a dis- 
tinct light. He felt it as a transgression of the law 
of God, a violation of the honor and authority of His 
King and Lord. He calls it iniquity according to its 
inner character, because it was the exact opposite of 
all that was good and holy, utterly unrighteous. And 
he confessed it as sin, a condition of perversity and 
misery. Concerning these transgressions of the law 
of God, he had prayed that they might be blotted out 

48 



THE GEEAT PETITION. 



49 



of God's book ; concerning his iniquity, he desired 
that he might be washed from it ; now, once again, in 
view of his sin, he prays for cleansing. In the earn- 
estness of his soul, he makes known in the most sig- 
nificant way his desire for the redemption which he 
expects from grace : ' Cleanse me from my sin. 5 

The word which is here translated cleanse is the 
same which David found in Lev. xiii. and xiv. in the 
laws concerning leprosy. It appears there ten times, 
and is there translated : to pronounce clean. We are 
thus referred to these passages for the explanation. 
There we learn that whenever a fear arose that any 
one had the leprosy he had to be brought to the priest. 
Observe that if it was really so, then he pronounced 
him unclean. If it was really not this disease, how- 
ever, then the priest had to pronounce him clean. 
So also if a leper had been healed of this disease, 
the priest had to pronounce him clean or unclean. 
After that he might again return to the temple 
and have the enjoyment of all the privileges of 
the people of God. We see that in the New Testa- 
ment, in like manner, the word ' cleanse ' is always 
used of leprosy ; and also that whenever any one was 
cleansed by Jesus he had still to go to the priest in 
order to be pronounced clean in the name of God. 

From these and similar passages it is manifest that 
for cleansing two things were necessary : this purity, 
indeed, consisted of two elements. The one was that 
the sufferer should be clean of his leprosy. The other 
was that on the part of God he must be pronounced 



50 



HATE MERCY UPON 3IE. 



clean. In this Psalm we find that in the purity which 
is also expected from the grace of God these two ele- 
ments also are found. When in ver. 7 we hear, ' Purge 
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean/ then, as we shall 
see in that passage itself, this has reference especially 
to pronouncing clean, to acquittal from guilt. When, 
later on, in ver. 10 we hear, ' Create in me a clean 
heart, O God,' this looks rather to the inner cleansing 
of the nature and the spirit. 

Nevertheless there is manifest here a distinction be- 
twixt the leprosy of the body and that of the soul. 
The leper must first be personally clean, and then he 
is pronounced clean. The sinner, on the contrary, is 
first pronounced clean, and then becomes more and 
more partaker of the inward cleansing. The distinc- 
tion, however, is not so marked as it appears. For 
the sinner is pronounced clean only in virtue of his 
union with the Lord Jesus. Jesus, the perfectly pure 
One, takes him up into His purity, becomes surety 
that this purity shall be communicated to him. It is 
because he is clean in Jesus that he is pronounced 
clean, and then he becomes all the more inwardly 
purified. And thus the two aspects of purity have 
one root, namely, £ the purity of Jesus. 5 

And thus also the two are one. The same grace 
which pronounced clean also makes clean. The same 
repentance which desires acquittal also longs for in- 
ward purity. And in this prayer, ; cleanse me from 
my sin,' derived from the word of the Lord concern- 
ing leprosy, David appears to have embraced these 



THE GREAT PETITION. 



51 



two elements together. What he later on separates is 
here still united in this one supreme thought : 6 1 
would be free from sin ; take the sin which I have 
committed, take it away from me ; take away from 
me the sin which is still hidden within me. Cleanse 
me from my sin.' 

It was the work of the priest to cleanse the leper. 
David desired to have this priestly action at the hands 
of God Himself. He knew that although this cleans- 
ing is a hidden and spiritual work it is nevertheless 
thoroughly real. He knew that no repentance, no 
conversion, no change of spirit or life, could cleanse 
him from sin. He knew that there is only one, the 
Holy One, who is mightier than sin, that is in a posi- 
tion to cleanse him ; and he knew that this God is the 
God of all grace, who will also do it. Therefore he 
prays : 6 Cleanse me from my sin.' . 

Reader, what David found necessary you have also 
need of. He desired that the holy God would stretch 
out His hand from heaven and touch him : yes, him 
upon the earth, and take away his sins from him. Oh 
let this also be your prayer ; consider it : sin is mine, 
it is upon me, it is in me. The purity which God 
gives may also be mine, on me, and in me. As really 
as sin is mine must the cleansing also be mine. Other- 
wise I may not be redeemed. Yes: make David's 
prayer your own, and make your own also that of the 
leper who cried: 'Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst 
make me clean.' 

And if you fail to do this with thorough earnest- 



52 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



ness, go, contemplate your sin where David contem- 
plated his. Head in God's word how wretched the 
condition of the leper was (Lev. xiii. 45, 46). Shut 
out from his fellow-men, from the temple and the 
service of God, he must continually cry out : 1 Un- 
clean, unclean!' This God ordained as a symbol of 
sin. Pray God that He may make you feel what a 
deadly and wretched disease consumes your soul ; how 
you wander about, cast out from the presence of God 
and from intercourse with Him, and then pray : 
' Cleanse me from my sin.' 

And when you thus pray, Jesus will also say to 
you, ' I will : be thou clean.' The leper went out im- 
mediately and was cleansed. Only believe in His 
power to cleanse, in His love which seeks you, in His 
grace sealed with His blood. You shall then know 
also, once for all, that the great deed of grace which 
you cannot now understand has taken place also in 
you. 

Therefore, yet once again, my reader, let this prayer 
of David become your own. Like his sin, yours also 
is very great. As for him, so also for you, God is the 
only helper. Let your prayer, like his, be a cry from 
the whole heart : ' Have mercy upon me ; wash me ; 
cleanse me from my sin/ 



II. 



THE CONFESSION. 

3. For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my sin is 

ever before me. 

4. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that 

which is evil in Thy sight ; that Thou mayest be justi- 
fied when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou 
judgest. 

5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my 

mother conceive me. 

6. Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts ; and in 

the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 



53 



' 'Gainst Thee, Thee only, hate I sinned, 
in Thy sight done this ill ; 
That when Thou speak' st,\Thou may'st be just, 
and clear in judging still. 

Behold, I in iniquity 

was form'd the womb within ; 
My mother also me conceived 

in guiltiness and sin. 

Behold, Thou in the inward parts 

with truth delighted art; 
And wisdom Thou shalt make me know 

within the hidden part.' 

—Scottish Psalter 



54 



Fifth Day. 



Jpafo mmg n$on mt, # dkfr* 

'For I acknowledge my transgressions. ' — Ver. da. 

"TiAVID has prayed for mercy; lie has asked that 
*J God would blot out his transgressions, and that 
He would wash him clean from the guilt of sin. He 
proceeds now to say further: ' For I acknowledge 
my transgressions.' He gives us thereby to under- 
stand for what reasons and in what spirit it is that he 
entreats mercy. He comes as one that is guilty to 
confess his sin. It is as one in this condition that he 
prays for grace. It is of the utmost importance for 
every one who desires to pray from the depths of his 
heart in the words of David, ' Have mercy upon me, 
O God, 5 that he should understand and feel these 
words, and utter this prayer in the very same spirit. 

This knowledge of sin is, indeed, the indispensable 
preparation for receiving the mercy of God. Man 
could do nothing to cover or take away his sin ; more- 
over, God does not require this at his hands. Only 
this does God command : Simply acknowledge the 
unrighteousness which you have done. God desires 

55 



56 



HAVE MEECY UPON ME. 



from him nothing but this : that he should acknowl- 
edge himself to be both guilty and lost. He must 
simply fall at His feet and confess the unspeakable 
misery in which sin has landed him. He must con- 
fess that he has sinned ; that sin has made him worthy 
of punishment ; that it would be righteous in God to 
cast him away ; that he is also so entirely sinful that he 
can do nothing to make himself acceptable to God. 
As one that is guilty and utterly lost, he must submit 
himself to the sentence of God, and confess that it 
would be a wonderful act of divine grace if he were 
to be received. It is only when man is brought to 
the point of thus confessing himself to be in truth 
and entirely a sinner, that he shall receive mercy. 
Then he stands in the presence of God in his true re- 
lationship ; then he can honor and praise God in truth 
for His grace. 

And it is just this, nevertheless, that many who are 
seeking for grace do not understand. They imagine 
that the source from which a change of disposition 
shall take place in their hearts is God's suffering Him- 
self to be persuaded to show them favor. They sup- 
pose that, whenever they earnestly repent and learn 
to pray with much penitence and love and deep con- 
viction, God will then manifest His grace toward 
them. And therefore they are always taking much 
pains to make themselves, in the presence of God, as 
pious and as earnest as they possibly can. They think 
they shall thus receive light and comfort. No, my 
friend, this is not God's way. God desires nothing 



THE CONFESSION. 



57 



from you but that you should really acknowledge your 
sin, and cast yourself down before Him as a guilty 
sinner. Then shall you receive His grace both cer- 
tainly and speedily. It is as a transgressor, as one 
that is ungodly, that you are to come. On such a one 
forgiveness and life will certainly be bestowed. 

The example of David also makes plain to us the 
aversion of man from the confession of sin. For a 
long time he was well aware that in the matter of 
Uriah he had made himself guilty of a violation of the 
sixth commandment, and in the matter of Bathsheba 
of a violation of the seventh commandment ; but, as 
he acknowledges in Psalm xxxii., he endeavored to 
cover and to silence his sin. He knew that he had 
committed sin, but he did not know the sin in its 
enormity and heinousness ; otherwise he would have 
at once humbled himself on account of it. This state 
of mind endured for well nigh a whole year, until he 
learned truly to know his sin. "When, however, he 
could no longer restrain his convictions, he had no 
alternative but to pour them out and acknowledge 
them in the presence of God. And so is it still. 
There are many that call themselves sinners who are 
in some measure awakened to a sense of sin, but who 
yet take pains to forget their sin. They have the 
intention of sinning no more, and with this good reso- 
lution they come to God. They think that they feel 
their sin with sufficient poignancy, and that it will 
make them too dispirited to ponder it deeply. They 
thus keep themselves back from really knowing 



58 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



their sin. The man who desires to receive grace 
must be willing to look upon his sin and ponder it, 
and to become thoroughly acquainted with it. The 
more thoroughly he makes the bitter confession, 'I 
acknowledge my transgressions,' the sooner shall he 
be able to express the sincere prayer for mercy, and the 
sooner shall he be prepared to receive grace. He shall 
experience what David says, after that he had found 
that the suppression and covering of his sin brought 
him no rest : 4 1 acknowledge my sin unto Thee, and 
mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess 
my transgressions unto the Lord, and Thou forgavest 
the iniquity of my sin ' (Ps. xxxii. 5). 

This incident in the life of David also teaches us a 
lesson with respect to the knowledge of sin. It is 
this: It is God Himself that must make our sin 
hwwn to us. It was only after the prophet Kathan 
had come unto him in the name of God with the word 
of conviction, ' Thou art the man,' that he cried out, 
'I have sinned.' Man is by nature so entirely under 
the power of sin that he can hide it from himself even 
when he has committed it. This is one of the most 
dangerous manifestations of sin. It blinds the heart. 
It gives rise to pride, and makes man unwilling to 
humble himself. It is the work of the Spirit of the 
grace of God to make the soul acknowledge sin. 
Oftentimes conscience can make one afraid of punish- 
ment, but this fear is the least element in the knowl- 
edge of sin. Sometimes trial or sickness or fear of 
death may make a man tremble with the dread of 



THE CONFESSION. 



59 



hell ; but that also is one of the least elements of sin, 
and a very slender indication of the sense of guilt. 
God may use these things, and the fear which they 
awaken, as means to inspire us with a true knowledge 
of sin ; but they themselves are still beneath the range 
of this knowledge. How many sick and dying men 
have I seen that prayed for mercy without any true 
knowledge of what sin was. My friend, who readest 
these words, forget it not : God alone can impart to 
you a knowledge of sin. Let it therefore be your 
prayer : \ Make me to Jenow my transgression and my 
sin'* (Job xiii. 23). Jesus has given the promise: 
; The Spirit shall convince of sin 5 (John xvi. 8). Let 
it become your earnest longing to be acquainted with 
sin. Ponder your sin ; confess it before God ; con- 
template it in the light of God's law and word ; en- 
deavor to contemplate it close at hand as committed 
against the highest holiness and the eternal love of 
God ; ask God to send His Spirit to you, as He sent 
Nathan to David, in order that you may learn to 
testify : ' 1 acknowledge my transgressions.' Pray, 
forget it not : there can be no real prayer for sin 
where this disposition is not found in the depths of 
the heart. 



Sixth Day, 



Jfata nwrm ttpon me, (& (^atr, 

' And my sin is ever before me.' — Ver. 35. 

Tls" these words David gives a more precise explana- 
tion and confirmation of his confession: 'I ac- 
knowledge my transgressions.' He tells the Lord 
what kind of knowledge this is. His sin has made 
such a deep impression upon him that he cannot for- 
get it. It is not only a matter of the understanding. 
It has seized his heart, so that he can no longer get 
quit of it : ' My sin is ever before me.' The consid- 
eration of this word may teach the- sinner who is pray- 
ing for grace some new and weighty lessons. 

' My sin is ever before me.' This reminds us of the 
enduring, abiding character of the sense of sin. A 
knowledge of sin is not a needful lesson which has to 
be learned in order that we may forget it again and 
simply go forward. ]STo : it must prevail with each 
man to such an extent that he can never more forget 
it. Whenever one confesses his sin, and then quite 
easily goes on his way, whether it be to give himself 
to the world or to talk of grace, that is a token that he 

60 



THE COXEESSIOj*. 



61 



is not yet thoroughly in earnest about his knowledge 
of sin. He who rightly understands his sinfulness, 
beholds in it so much that is shameful, so much that 
is heinous, that he becomes filled with this conviction. 
He goes forward continually bowed down under the 
thought of the great evil that he has done. Is not this 
what we expect from any one who has done some ex- 
treme misdeed or other, and then obtains an insight into 
its character ? Suppose, for example, that some one 
has committed a murder, and then obtains repentance 
for it : do we expect that he will speedily again go 
about laughing, or become very joyful ? Surely not : 
especially if a sentence of death has been pronounced 
upon him on account of his sin. In like manner when 
the greatness of his sin has become known to the 
sinner, it becomes something to him that he cannot 
forget, especially until he is certain that he has for- 
giveness. He has sinned against God. He has made 
himself guilty against the law of God and the love of 
God. In the midst of all the occupations and dis- 
tractions of the world, he testifies : 6 My sin is ever 
before me. 9 

This is for him the great question of his life with 
which he has to deal. This is the one thought which 
he has to cherish concerning himself : ' I have sinned.' 
And nothing can possibly yield him comfort until 
God has caused him to know : ' Thy sin is forgiven 
thee. 5 And although one may come to God with all 
sorts of fair words concerning the compassion of God, 
the soul still remains in this condition until God 



62 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



Himself takes away and blots out the sin. May we 
never at any time look upon sorrow for sin as some- 
thing that is needless, and may we never seek or seize 
a mere superficial comfort. ~No : a knowledge of sin 
is necessary, and it is the work of God. Every soul 
must learn to say in the prayer for grace : 1 My sin is 
ever before me.' 

k My sin is ever before me.' This ought also fur- 
ther to remind us of ike personal character of a true 
sense of sin. It is a sure sign of those with whom 
the confession of sin is not deep that they are always 
ready to say : ' Yes, all men are truly sinners.' It is 
as if the thought of the universality of sin made the 
guilt of each man in particular less. At least this 
consideration tends to draw away the thoughts from 
the guilt of each particular person. And then one is 
ready to imagine further that there are others who 
are still greater sinners for whom there is neverthe- 
less grace. Why should there not be grace also for 
me ? This is the ordinary language of those who are 
not willing to think much of their own personal sin. 
They may have some knowledge, some ideas concern- 
ing the greatness of sin in general, but they do not 
say this : ' My sin is ever before me.' This, however, 
is the language of the true penitent. He feels that 
he personally has to deal with God. He feels that he 
for himself alone has to deal with God, in death, in 
judgment and everlasting punishment, and that it is 
of small moment to him whether there are others 
along with him or not. He sees himself as one that 



THE COXEESSIOX. 



63 



is condemned and lost in the light of God's law, and 
he has truly neither the time nor the desire to think 
of others. He cannot ask if the sins of others are 
greater than his own or not. He finds it sufficient to 
deal only with himself : ' My sin is ever before me.' 
He is quite in earnest with the confession : 6 My sin.' 
While there are many who are doing everything to 
make it manifest that sin is not their own, he acknowl- 
edges it with all his heart. One imagines that sin be- 
longs to the devil : he has the guilt of it. Another 
fancies that guilt rests upon the world, and is depend- 
ent upon circumstances. A third, not perhaps in 
words but in his heart, says that sin comes by imputa- 
tion from God, who caused that men should be born 
in this condition. But the true penitent cries : c My 
sin.' Yes : more than my property, or my house, my 
wife or my children, is sin my own. It is a part of 
me ; no one can take it from me, or out of me, but 
God alone. Oh, it is a confession of amazing earnest- 
ness: 6 My sin is ever before me.' 

My reader, do you desire mercy ? See here, then, 
w r hat constitutes an element in the prayer for mercy. 
I pray you, turn not away from the painful and hum- 
bling side of this confession. Consider no time or 
pains too much which you must use in order to make 
it thorough and cordial. There will be much that 
you may desire to lay aside ; but be assured of this, 
there is nothing that so much concerns you, there is 
nothing of so much importance to you, as your sin. 
In every thought which God has of you. in every 



64 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



movement during which His holy eyes are fixed upon 
you, this is the first and principal thing that He sees 
in you. your sin. Is it not, then, of the uttermost 
importance that you should see yourself even as God 
sees you \ In every prayer for grace which you 
make, this is the first point to which God looks : 
whether you indeed desire grace and long for it : that 
is, whether you truly abhor and condemn yourself as 
one that is entirely unclean, or whether your sins are 
to you thoroughly and constantly wrong, and whether 
as a sinner you shall know to receive and value the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Therefore be it 
yours with all earnestness to learn this lesson : 6 My 
sin is ever before me.' Without this there can be no 
true repentance, no sincere prayer for mercy, no liv- 
ing faith, no well-pleasing fellowship with God. "We 
are destined for the knowledge, for the enjoyment of 
the redemption of God here below, and still more for 
the heaven where blessedness and peace shall be the 
praising and enjoying of that free grace which has re- 
deemed the ungodly. 

I press these considerations upon you, just because 
I know that there are many who deal too superficially 
with the confession of sins. Thev are willing: enough 
to confess that they are sinners, for all men are in the 
same position. But, alas ! they know nothing of the 
tremendous earnestness of this confession. They do 
not utter it with shame ; they do not utter it before 
God and upon their knees ; they say it without really 



THE CONFESSION. 



65 



hungering for grace. May God redeem many of my 
readers from this insensibility, and teach them to cry 
out in dead earnestness, and with a contrite heart: 
' Have mercy upon me, O God ; my sin is ever be- 
fore me.' 



Seventh Day. 



Hafa mews upon me, © (§otr, 

'Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.' — Ver. 4a. 

TN his verse confession is now made of that in 
which consists properly the grievousness of sin. 
It is against God that it has been committed. Ac- 
cording as the soul understands this will its knowledge 
of the real nature of sin increase, and its insight into 
the reasons for which nothing but wonderful and 
divine grace can take it away. 

In order to feel this we have only to think how on 
earth the heinousness of a misdeed depends on the 
person against whom it is committed. The same ac- 
tion is accounted much baser when done against a 
father than against a servant, against a king than 
against an ordinary subject ; and this is the grievous- 
ness of sin, that it 7 has been committed against God. 

Yes : against God ; and who is He ? Is He not the 
Holy and Perfect One, who manifests Himself as a 
consuming fire against all that is evil ? Is He not the 
King and Lawgiver of heaven and earth, whose will 
is joyfully accomplished throughout the whole heaven ? 

66 



THE CONFESSION. 



67 



Is He not the Creator and Upholder, who has a right 
to expect at the hands of His creatures that they will 
do what He has created them for ? Is He not the 
God who in accordance with that right has given us 
His law, and towards whom it was a matter of the 
highest reasonableness that we should show obedience ? 
And against this God you have sinned ; that is, you have 
withheld obedience from Him. You have refused to 
do what He hath commanded you. You have not 
hesitated to violate and to break His holy law. You 
have sinned against Him. You have exalted and 
chosen your will, unjust and perverse as it is, above 
His will. You have said that the counsel and the 
will of Satan is more attractive to you, and has more 
influence with you, than the will of God. As far as it 
was in your power you have done your uttermost to 
rob God of His glory. You have withstood Him. 
You have assailed Him in His honor. You have dis- 
honored Him, this great and infinite God. You, a 
poor worm of the dust, you have affronted and in- 
sulted the high and holy One before whom angels 
prostrate themselves. And as God is the Lawgiver and 
the Proprietor of the universe, He cannot endure sin. 
He must maintain His right in the universe. Every 
transgression of His law violates that right, and the ter- 
rible wrath of God is kindled in order to maintain it. 
And against this God you have sinned. What think 
you ? The moment a man succeeds in once beholding 
this God in His greatness, does it not become self-evi- 
dent that it is this which startles and bruises his soul : 



68 



HAVE MEKCY VFON ME. 



'Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.' Oh what 
have I done ? I have revolted from this God, the 
highest perfection : I have dared to provoke His 
wrath and curse : this God, without whom I cannot 
live, 1 have made mine enemy. Woe is me ! 

And this is still not all. There yet remains one 
thought which makes all this still more bitter for the 
awakened soul. The God against whom I have 
sinned is the God of love. He has not only shown 
me His goodness in the thousand blessings of this life, 
but He is the God of love and the God of grace who 
has revealed His Son Jesus Christ in His eternal glory. 
And I have been such a child of hell that I have 
dared to sin against this God. I have despised His 
Son and turned my back on Him. Oh there is an in- 
expressible bitterness for the soul who truly feels this 
in the confession : ' Against Thee, Thee only, have I 
sinned.' 

It is this that makes sin so terrible. It is this that 
makes it so impossible for man to bring his sin to 
naught ; for sin is an act of enmity against the holy 
God. And man is not in a position to recall this sin 
or to take it away. Every sin is an assault against 
the law and a violation of it, an inroad upon its au- 
thority of which by the law cognizance is taken, and 
nothing that man is able to do can possibly bring to 
naught one single sin that has been committed. Sin 
has been committed against God. He has observed 
and marked it. It has assailed Him. He alone can 
say if He will forgive it, and He alone has the power 



THE COKFESSIO^. 



69 



to blot it out and to annul it. Tes : against God has 
the sin been committed, and with God must it be ac- 
counted for. Once again, this is the terrible element 
of sin that is expressed in the confession : 4 Against 
Thee, Thee only, have I sinned. 5 And yet how little 
thought is bestowed upon this fact. Even in the case 
of awakened sinners, how much do they concentrate 
their thoughts simply on the view that they have 
sinned against themselves and their own happiness, 
and how little on what ought to cause them the great- 
est concern, namely, the fact that they have sinned 
against God. 

My reader, let this be the goal of all your effort. 
Make it, I entreat you, a matter of much prayer. 
Tou have to do with God. On the great day of judg- 
ment you shall meet Him face to face. If you have 
not thoroughly learned to feel it, you will then expe- 
rience to your everlasting horror what is meant by 
your having sinned against God. Even here it is 
grievous and painful to make confession; but far 
better be humbled here than be condemned forever. 
And do not suffer yourself to be drawn away by any- 
thing from your endeavor to make this confession. 
There are thousands of so-called Christians who know 
nothing of this conviction of sin ; but, bethink your- 
self, they shall not be able to help you in that great 
day. Many will say to you that you must not make 
yourself too anxious about sin ; but I feel bound to 
say to you that you have reason to be anxious about 
sin* You have sinned against God and He is a con- 



70 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



sinning fire. Your sin is so great, the clanger is so 
threatening, that it is in the highest degree unreason- 
able not to be anxious about sin. As certainly as you 
have sinned, has God uttered His sentence of wrath 
upon you, and it is only sheer folly to seek rest and 
comfort before you know that this God has taken 
away your sins. The God in whose hand your life is 
is your enemy. He can at any moment suffer His 
wrath to flash out against you. Oh haste then, I pray 
you, to Him with the confession : k Against Thee, 
Thee only, have I sinned.' And if your heart does 
not feel it so deeply as it ought to feel it, entreat 
Him to work out this result Himself in your heart. 
The Spirit who taught David the word will also teach 
you, if you continually make the petition, to say : 
'Against Thee, Th.ee only, have I sinned? 



Eighth Day- 

— — o 

Jfabje mmg rqjcm mz, # <Sotr. 

' Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which 
is evil in Thy sight ; that Thou mayest be justified when Thou 
speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.' — Yer. 4. 

T\AVLD is in thorough earnest with every confes- 
*J sion. Under the pressure of what he feels so 
deeply, he for the second time confirms it all : ' Against 
Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.' On this word of 
his we have meditated. Now there follows yet an- 
other word : 6 And I have done that which was evil in 
Thy sight ; that Thon mayest be justified when Thou 
speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.' In these 
words he presents the reasons why he thus avows his 
sin. He desires to approve the sentence of God, and 
to acknowledge that His verdict concerning him could 
not be other than the righteous judgment which he 
had deserved. He has made confession of his guilt in 
order that God might be justified in His speaking, and 
be clear in His judging. He who prays sincerely 
for grace will endeavor to be inspired with this same 
feeling. Let us try to set before ourselves what it 
really means, 

71 



72 



HAVE MEBCY UPON ME. 



Consider the terrible nature of God's judgment. 
Accursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
that are written to do them. This is the sentence of 
the Lawgiver. He explains that every single trans- 
gression of His law brings His curse upon man. He 
does not make any inquiry about the excuse which 
man might make, but the sentence is inexorable : ' The 
soul that sinneth shall die.' On every transgressor in 
the great day this word will go forth : ' Depart from 
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' And the soul 
that truly knows its sin admits that this sentence is 
not too heavy or too strict, is not more than it has de- 
served ; and acknowledges that God is perfectly en- 
titled thus to deal with sin and condemn it. The soul 
has made itself worthy of this condemnation. How- 
ever intolerable the judgment of God may be, it feels 
that it is not too severe ; it makes confession that it 
has sinned against such a God in order that on its own 
part it may confirm the truth that God is righteous. 
This was David's confession. He could adduce nothing 
on which he could plead for any other sentence. If 
he were still to be received, it must only be upon the 
footing of free undeserved grace. He was, in truth, 
in dead earnest with his sense of guilt. He must have 
had a sight of its detestable and execrable nature dif- 
ferent from most men, in order to be able to speak 
thus : for he felt that the sentence of God was some- 
thing terrible. In that anguish of soul which he had 
for a long time endured he had had some proof of 
how terrible a thing it is to be abandoned by God. 



THE CONFESSION. 



73 



Yet he acknowledges the righteousness of the sen- 
tence, and yields himself to be laid hold of by it. 
That is surely something more than proceeds from 
man by nature. Such a sense of guilt and condem- 
nation must surely have been wrought in him by the 
Spirit of God. 

This becomes still more clear when we reflect fur- 
ther on the tendency of man to excuse himself. If 
David had been willing to listen to this, there was 
enough to which he might have appealed. Had he 
not served God from his youth upward? Had he 
not for God's name and honor borne more than any 
other of God's servants ? Would not the holy God 
Himself testify of him that he had walked with Him 
with a perfect heart? The Lord Himself had at a 
later period suffered it to be stated in His word that 
He had strengthened Jerusalem ' because David had 
done that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and 
had not turned aside from all that He had commanded 
him, all the days of his life, except only in the matter 
of Uriah the Hittite ' (1 Kings xv. 5). And must this 
one sin of thoughtlessness be reckoned to him so 
severely ? Would not an earthly prince know how 
to forgive a single transgression when committed by a 
faithful servant; and should not God the merciful 
and gracious One also forgive this sin of His own 
accord ? There was no necessity for confession : God 
should not impute it to him. Oh it is thus that men 
speak and think. They do not know the terrible 
reality of God's holiness, and of His judgment upon 



74 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



sin. They do not know that every single sin, although 
it be only one. is a violation of God's law, an injury 
to His honor, a proof of the enmity of the heart, and 
that it must be avenged. He bows himself before 
God. not merely because this must be done sometime, 
and because God is too strong for him. ]S"o : that is 
not the reason : he had such a view of the authority 
of God that he approved of God's sentence. He saw 
how good it was that the law of God should be main- 
tained ; how needful it was that, although the whole 
world should perish, the glory of God and the honor 
of God should be established ; and, under the power 
of that feeling, he makes confession of his sin as com- 
mitted against God alone, in order that he may give 
honor to God, and acknowledge that He was justified 
in His speaking and clear in His judging. 

Once again, therefore, I say that this is surely more 
than proceeds from man by nature. Such a sense of 
guilt and condemnation must surely have been wrought 
in him by the Spirit of God. And the Lord has suf- 
fered it to be noted in His word, in order that we mav 
thereby see how it goes with a man who is on the way 
of genuine repentance and conversion. Oh what a dif- 
ferent experience is this from the superficial confes- 
sion of sin with which most men rest content. They 
confess, indeed, that they are sinners ; but the sin is a 
weakness, an infirmity, a misfortune. They have to 
sympathize with the sinner, but of the honor of God 
they think but little. The poor sinner must be com- 
forted ; but whether the honor of God ? s law is main- 



THE COXFESSIOjS". 



75 



tained concerns them not. O my fellow-man, that is 
not repentance as the Spirit of God works it in the 
heart. No : he that is truly convinced of sin by the 
Spirit of God does not merely think of himself and 
what concerns him ; but his great sorrow is that he 
has dared to commit transgression against such a God, 
. with such a perfect law ; and his great concern is how 
he can possibly restore that which he has destroyed ; 
and since he can do nothing else, he lays himself down 
at the feet of God to yield to Him the only honor that 
he now can give, namely, to acknowledge that He is 
righteous in His judgment. 

Reader, have you thus learned to know your sins ? 
God has given His law to convince you of sin, ' that 
every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world be 
made guilty before God.' Have you already given 
God this honor, although it may have been with 
trembling ? Have you humbled yourself before Him 
as worthy of the judgment of God ? Only he who 
does this, and who thus in truth shows himself to be 
a sinner, can receive mercy. Oh see to it that you 
really know and confess your sin. Without this there 
is no grace. Humble yourself under the mighty hand 
of God, and He shall exalt you. 



Ninth Day. 



0 

Jpabe rrwwg npori mt, (9 (lotr, 

' Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
conceive me.' — Ver. 5. 

T\ AVID'S confession of guilt is not at an end. The 
^ sin against God into which he had fallen had 
shown him something new. At an earlier period he 
did not know it : now he felt and experienced it. It 
was this : that his whole nature was entirely and al- 
together impure from his very birth. The grace of 
God had from his youth marvelously preserved him 
from the stains of sin. His whole life had been de- 
voted to the service of God. But, lo ! here he at 
once becomes the prey of temptation, and he makes 
himself guilty of terrible sin against God. So far is 
it from being the case that his earlier holy life could 
comfort him, that this just constitutes the bitterness of 
his grief. His heart must indeed be terribly corrupted, 
the power of sin in him must be greater than he 
imagined, since after having received so much from 
God he could so sin. All at once there is discovered 
to him the root out of which this sin has come to the 

76 



THE CONFESSION. 



77 



surface. For a long time the grace of God had pre- 
served him, and he ran the risk of forgetting that he 
was just as corrupt as every one of his fellow-men. 
Xow he has become known to himself, and lays him- 
self down before God with the confession of this his 
inborn corruption. It is not this one sin that calls for 
punishment. ' But, lo ! my whole nature is impure : 
thus, then, since sin is never lacking, I am a sinner 
who has need of grace.' ' Behold, I was shapen in 
iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.' 

The inborn corruption of our nature is thus an ele- 
ment of the true confession of sin. How perverted 
must be the ideas of those who appeal to that fact to 
excuse their sin. There are many who do this even 
when they confess their sin. They think that since 
they are sinful by nature the guilt of their sin is not so 
great. They cannot, indeed, be other than sinful. They 
were born so. They have their nature from God, and 
cannot help that it is so sinful as it is : a proof this that 
they as yet know nothing of the real abominableness 
of sin. Did they really know it, they would be so 
deeply ashamed of their sinful nature, and of the 
enmity toward God of which sin is the proof, that it 
would humble them still more deeply to remember 
that they are one with their progenitors in sin. In 
view of the unity of the whole human race they would 
see that God had put all of them to the test in Adam, 
and in this sense of shame they would be silent in the 
dust before God. The confession of this inborn cor- 
ruption, then, and shame for it. is also an indispensable 
element of a true confession of sin. 



78 



HAVE MERCY UPOIT ME. 



And thus alone does a man come to see nimself as 
God sees him. Man looks continually at what is be- 
fore his eves, and when he continues protected against 
external sins, he does not think that his sinful nature 
is as much accursed as that of the open sinner. David 
ran the risk of being entangled in this error. When 
he had sinned, he learned to understand what he had 
been taught from his youth upward ; and it will 
always be seen in the most eminent believers, that 
they feel very deeply that they have in the depths of 
their inner life the germs of all ungodliness, and that 
grace alone has preserved them from the development 
of these evil seeds. Oh if this were truly felt, how 
would those who have been preserved from the ways 
of the ungodly in consequence of a Christian upbring- 
ing, nevertheless know how to present themselves in 
all sincerity alongside the greatest sinners. How would 
all of them subscribe to the representations of sin in 
God's word, and amidst much distinction in the out- 
ward manifestation of sin, feel that every one of them 
was on the same footing as sinners in God's sight. 
For this reason also is the confession of natural cor- 
ruption an indispensable element of the true confes- 
sion of sin. 

And thus alone is man truly prepared as a penitent 
to desire and to receive the work of grace. If they 
are but single sins that I have committed, I can en- 
deavor to make compensation for them. If I am in- 
wardly and wholly corrupt, then every such endeavor 
is idle and vain. Then every effort for good becomes 



THE CO^FESSIOX. 



79 



stained with sin, and I have need of a free divine for- 
giveness. Then I feel that I have need, not only of 
forgiveness of sins, but also of renewal of the heart, 
as David united these two blessings in this Psalm so 
closely with one another. According as the confes- 
sion of this inward and outward corruption becomes 
deeper, is the surrender to Jesus and His grace more 
complete and unreserved, and grace itself more abund- 
antly glorified. 

It is, nevertheless, not simply the longing and the 
reception of grace that depends in large measure upon 
this confession. There will also spring from it a 
clearer insight into the plan cf divine grace, and a 
cordial choice and enjoyment of it. When I see that 
my misery has its roots in my fellowship with the first 
Adam, then I see how my new union with the second 
Adam redeems me completely from it. When I ap- 
prehend to some extent how the fall of Adam de- 
stroyed me, because I am born of him and receive his 
life, I learn to understand how the obedience of the 
second Adam restores me 5 because I become one with 
Him, am born of Him, and really obtain part in His 
life. The divine worth, the fitness, the all-sufficiency 
of the divine plan of redemption is made clear to me, 
and I know how to seek my salvation in daily fellow- 
ship with that love which flows from God. Thus from 
every point of view it is clear that the sincere penitent 
must especially make confession of the entire corrup- 
tion of his nature from very birth. 

Header, have you thus learned to know and acknowl- 



80 



HAVE MEECY UP01S" ME. 



edge this corruption of your nature ? I do not ask if 
this is one of the points of doctrine which you have 
received from your youth. That will probably be the 
case. What I ask is: Have you indeed learned to 
abhor yourself as one that is entirely impure ? Do 
you indeed regard yourself as loathsome in the eye of 
God, and inwardly so impure that you are good for 
nothing but to be cast out ? Are you thus ashamed of 
your origin ? Does it surprise you that God should 
still endure such an impure creature? Have you 
looked away from every endeavor to improve yourself 
or to make yourself acceptable to God ? Is it indeed 
your deeply rooted conviction that there is no power 
but that of God which is able to renew you ? You 
surely feel that there is still much lacking for such a 
thorough knowledge of your sin. Oh, ask God for it. 
He can give it to you by His Holy Spirit. 



Tenth Day. 



0 

Jpafo mews upon mt, # (Sotr. 

• Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.' — Yek. 6a. 

THE confession of his sin lias taught David how to 
* lay bare its origin and root. From his birth on- 
wards his whole inner life has been impure, and the 
thought of this leads him again to think of God as 
the Searcher of the heart, before whose eyes this in- 
ward corruption makes him worthy of rejection even 
when it does not openly break forth in sinful deeds. 
He feels that in his confession of sin, and his en- 
deavor after conversion, and his hope in mercy, he 
must not Jeave this out of view. The God with 
whom he has to do is a God who desires truth in the 
inward parts. For us also it is of great importance, 
in our prayer for mercy, not to overlook this word. 
It will teach us lessons of the very greatest import- 
ance. 

God desires truth in the inward parts. This thought 
summons us to earnestness and godly fear in our 
sense of sin. By nature we run so much risk of 
dwelling more on the outward manifestation of sin 

81 



82 



HAVE MERCY UP01ST ME. 



than upon its hidden root and power. Whenever, in 
consequence of their upbringing or favorable circum- 
stances, the outward life is religious and unblamable, 
many flatter themselves with the thought that it is 
also well with the heart : at least, that although they 
have still many sins, the heart is not quite so bad as 
has been said. They regard themselves at least not as 
ungodly and enemies of God. When God's word 
uses such expressions, it cannot mean such as they are. 
Oh, did they but know how the Lord proves and 
searches the heart, they would think otherwise. The 
Holy One sees the indwelling corruption of the heart. 
There is no man that doeth good ; no, not one. The 
holy God requires truth in the inward parts. The 
service which He receives must be completely true, 
in full agreement with His holy law. Love to God 
must fill the whole heart. If anything be lacking, 
then we stand guilty and condemned before God. 
He cannot be content with less than perfect holiness : 
a terrible thought this for the awakened soul. God 
desires truth in the inward parts. 

How should this thought keep many a one from 
the superficial conversion with which men so often 
suffer themselves to be deceived. Whenever, upon a 
sickbed, for example, there is a little anxiety about 
sin and questions about grace, the soul is at once com- 
forted. Men are not aware that these feelings can 
easily be awakened, and also very lightly laid to sleep 
again. The desires go forth for the help of God 
without the soul's being prepared to abandon every- 



THE CONFESSION. 



83 



thing in actual life. The heart is deceitful above all 
things. Through the pious appearance of religion, 
people many a time deceive themselves. Oh that 
men might feel that God searches the very deepest 
recesses of the soul. That word of David should be 
a word of L eartbreaking power in order to be at the 
same time a word of healing and quickening. 

Thou desirest truth in the inward parts. This 
thought gives hope and comfort in the way of conver- 
sion. Nothing less will God have from the awakened 
soul : nothing more will the grace of God require from 
the penitent. I learn to know myself as guilty and 
worthy of condemnation : in me dwells no good thing. 
How, then, can I arrive at truth in the inward parts \ 
How can this thought give me comfort ? Well, in these 
ways : for him who knows himself as one that is lost 
by nature, the truth after which God seeks lies in 
nothing else than this, that man should present him- 
self to God in truth as he really is. He who thus 
comes to God with the acknowledgment of his sin in 
his real condition comes in truth. This is the sin- 
cerity of which the word of God speaks so much. 
There are many who imagine that sincerity before 
God consists in a great perfection and in a very cor- 
dial dedication of themselves to the service of God. 
For the anxious sinner it is not so. He is not yet so 
far on the way. With him this is the highest sin- 
cerity, that he should present himself to God with all 
his misery, that he should confess himself to be just 
what he is. He who confesses his sin certainly re- 



84 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



ceives mercy. God desires troth in the inward parts. 
The soul who is desirous for salvation, and that rightly 
understands that word, may rejoice deeply in it. 
When you appear before God, do not endeavor to 
present yourself to Him as one that is pious, and to 
make yourself appear before Him at best with an ani- 
mated religiousness. Xo : make confession of what 
you think, and feel, and do. Hide nothing from the 
Lord. Seek not to cloak your sin. Acknowledge 
the whole truth about your condition of sin and 
misery. God desires truth in the inward parts, and 
will not withhold His grace from you. 

And when one has received mercy there is still a 
glorious application of that word. God desires truth 
in the inward parts. This thought strengthens faith 
for glorious eoepectations. The soul that has been en- 
dowed with grace has no more bitter conflict than 
over the deceit and unfaithfulness of the heart. It 
feels that there is so much which is still not in truth. 
In its faith, its love, its prayer, its dedication to the 
service of God, it everywhere discovers that it is not 
yet capable of serving the Lord with the whole heart 
and in perfect truth, as it desires. And many a time 
it is afraid that it will yet altogether give way. But 
then it finds in God's word this glorious promise : * I 
will give them their recompense in truth, and I will 
make an everlasting covenant with them ■ (Isa. lxi. 8). 
It begins to see that this is also a part of God ? s plan 
and promise to confirm and to bring to perfection the 
work of grace that has been begun. Thou J t si rest 



THE CONFESSION. 



85 



truth in the inward parts : this it makes a ground of 
pleading, on which it entreats that God Himself 
would work out that process in which He has delight. 
And this word of David becomes thus the source of 
the most glorious expectations. 

Beloved suppliant, in all your use of this Fifty-first 
Psalm, and in all your intercourse with God, let this 
word constitute the fundamental element of your 
prayer. Meet always with God as a God who desires 
truth in the inward parts. In all your confession of 
sin, in all your religion, in your whole existence, let 
truth in the inward parts be your desire, as it is the 
desire of God. And if you find that there is nothing 
good in you, that the more you strive after truth the 
less you find it, be assured that in all such experience 
the acknowledgment of this misery is already the 
truth which God desires. And when He has wrought 
this in you, so also will He bestow it upon you amidst 
all the spiritual conflict that remains. If, then, you 
long for this from Him who also desires it, and who 
on that account will take delight in bestowing it, it 
shall be given to you. 



Eleventh Day. 



JpEfo mmv u$on mz, (& (Boh* 

6 And in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.' 
— Ver. 6&. 

THIS word appears to be a transition from the con- 
f ession of sin to the prayer for redemption. God 
desires truth in the inward parts. To this thought 
David is led by the confession of his inborn sin. It 
was not only his transgression, but also his very na- 
ture, that made him worthy of rejection before God. 
He cannot by nature stand before the holy Searcher 
of hearts, who desires truth in the very depths of the 
heart. But this thought leads him again back to God, 
who alone has the power to bestow truth in the in- 
ward parts. 

The very fact which has brought him low, namely, 
that God cannot be content with less than truth, also 
lifts him up again. If the grace of God receives him, 
then it will bestow upon him nothing less. In the 
hidden parts God makes him to know wisdom. 
There is here in the midst of his prayer an expres- 
sion of the hope that God will make known to him 

86 



THE CONFESSION. 



87 



the way to be redeemed from sin ; and that deep and 
penetrating as the power of sin was, such also his 
knowledge of grace shall be. He trusts that the 
spiritual insight into the way of redemption which he 
desires to walk in shall be communicated to him by 
God Himself. 

The whole Psalm is indeed a proof that thus it 
actually was so. We have in this Psalm the first clear 
explanation of the washings and sprinkling of the 
blood of the temple service, and the spiritual signifi- 
cance of the Old Testament sacrifices. The connec- 
tion betwixt the forgiveness of sins and the renewing 
of the heart is presented in his prayer as clearly as 
almost anywhere else in the Old Testament. His 
hope was not in vain. ' In the hidden parts Thou 
shalt make me to know wisdom. 5 

The anxious sinner who is seeking the wav of grace 
may perhaps think that in this verse he lias not so 
much as in others. Its instruction, however, is of the 
very highest value. In the prayer for grace this word 
is entirely indispensable. 

It teaches you that the true knowledge of the way 
of grace mast he sought from God Himself. He 
alone can make you know the hidden wisdom. The 
human knowledge of the way of grace which we ob- 
tain by the use of our understanding is not sufficient. 
Mark well : we do not say that this knowledge is not 
necessary. But this knowledge is not enough. That 
I think that this knowledge is necessary, this very 
book which I write is a proof. I am afraid that there 



88 



HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. 



is a great lack of this knowledge, even of the intelligent 
understanding of the way of grace. I am afraid 
many have very imperfect conceptions of what grace 
is, and how it redeems the sinner : of what the blot- 
ting out of transgressions, and the washing away of un- 
righteousness, and the cleansing of sin is ; of what the 
terrible nature of sin is, and very much more that is 
taught in this glorious Psalm. And I consider it of 
the utmost importance that concerning these points 
clear convictions should be obtained. For without 
clear knowledge faith cannot be clear and powerful 
and joyful. 6 Understandest thou what thou readest ? ' 
was the first question of the preacher of the gospel : 
' Believest thou with all thine heart ? ' the second. 
Such an intelligent understanding of the way of grace 
is of great value. 

But this is not enough. It is possible that one may 
have a well-nigh perfect knowledge of God's word 
and yet be lost. And when we have clear insight 
into the way of the truth of God, we run just as much 
risk of resting content with it. When one who is in- 
different begins to be earnest, and then obtains an in- 
sight into God's wonderful redemption, such knowl- 
edge sometimes yields him great joy. When he 
begins to obtain some right conception of the plan of 
redemption in Christ, of His atonement, of God's 
righteousness, of the new birth, he sees such a suita- 
bility and glory in it all that he is filled with admira- 
tion and gladness. But then he runs great risk of 
resting in this. He feels a very great difference in 



THE COZSTESSIOX. 



89 



himself in comparison with, the time when he re- 
mained in indifference or in ignorance. A great change 
has taken place in him, and yet it may be that he has not 
yet obtained an inward experiential spiritual knowl- 
edge of redemption. On this account, when an anx- 
ious soul is seeking to understand the way of grace in 
this Psalm, it becomes a matter of very much import- 
ance that he should feel deeply his dependence upon 
God ; that at every verse and every word he should 
lift up the prayer : 6 Lead me in Thy truth, and teach 
me : for Thou art the God of my salvation 5 ; that he 
should continually use, for example, the prayers of 
Ps. xxv. and Ps. cxix. in order to obtain the heavenly 
divine instruction of the Spirit in this hidden wisdom. 
O thou who art longing for salvation, it is an amaz- 
ing thought that one may be occupied with divine 
truths and yet be lost after all. Perhaps some one 
thinks that such a representation is sufficient to make 
one altogether dispirited. It would indeed be so were 
it not that we can say in this prayer : ' In the hidden 
parts Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.' God 
gives the wisdom. This is our only security, and that 
is the only answer that we can give to the question : 
How do we know if we have a right spiritual knowl- 
edge of grace ? The Lord can and will make you as- 
sured of this. Conversion, faith, is not a work that 
you must do, and on which you can look back and 
say, 6 That is well done.' Xo : the innermost essence 
of conversion and faith consists in coming to God, in 
surrender to God, in receiving from God the living 



90 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



God, grace to be worked out by Him, in being washed 
and purified from sin by Him. And just at this point 
is there in the religion of many so much defect. 
They do not know that in grace the principal element 
is that we must come into contact with the living 
God, and must experience the power of the Almighty. 

O soul longing for salvation, true religion is a 
divine and spiritual thing. The whole work from be- 
ginning to end is a wonderful work of the holy God 
in the soul. The first desire for grace, spiritual wis- 
dom, the growing sense of sin, faith in the blood of 
Jesus, the renewing of the Holy Spirit — everything is 
wrought by God in the soul. Oh let it be a matter 
of deep earnestness with you. If you are seeking to 
walk in the way of grace after the footsteps of David 
in this Psalm, go to God with every verse, and in 
every experience of perplexity cast yourself upon 
God and ask of Him that step by step and word by 
word He would fulfill in you this promise : ' In the 
hidden parts Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.' 



in. 

THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 

7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, 

and I shall be whiter than snow. 

8. Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones which 

Thou hast broken may rejoice. 

9. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniqui- 

ties. 



01 



' Do Thou with hyssop sprinkle me, 
I shall be cleansed so ; 
Yea, wash Thou me, and then I shall 
be whiter than the snow. 

Of gladness and of joy fulness 

make me to hear the wice : 
That so these very bones which Thou 

hast broken may rejoice. 1 

— Scottish Psalter. 



92 



Twelfth Day. 



Jfafo nurnj upon mi, # (loir, 

' Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. ' — Yer. 7a. 

T\AYYD has confessed his sins. ITow follows the 
*J prayer for redemption which he desires from 
grace. He would fain have before all else the for- 
giveness of his sins. 

In order to understand this verse we must look 
back to the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Num- 
bers. There we find this word ' purify ' as many as 
seven times, and the ceremony of cleansing is de- 
scribed with the utmost detail. It was demanded in 
this way. Whenever any one had touched a dead 
body he was reckoned unclean. Death was the pun- 
ishment and the curse of sin, and on this account 
every member of the people of Israel who had touched 
a dead body must be reckoned as unclean. He was 
then also no longer at liberty to come to the taber- 
nacle, in order that he might thus exhibit in an ex- 
ternal fashion how fellowship with sin and death 
separate us from God. Only after he had been puri- 
fied and washed could he be again clean. And this 

93 



94 



HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. 



is described to us in that chapter. A red heifer had 
to be burned and its ashes kept in store. If any one 
had rendered himself unclean, then the ashes had to 
be put in water ; a bunch of hyssop had to be dipped 
in it. and the unclean person sprinkled with it. After 
he had washed himself with water, he would be once 
more clean. He must thus be purified with hyssop. 
In the Epistle to the Hebrews this ceremony is defi- 
nitely mentioned as a type of purification by the blood 
of Jesus. "We read there (eh. ix. 13. : ' For if 
the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean cleanseth 
them to the purity of the flesh : how much more shall 
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit 
offered Himself without spot to God. cleanse your 
^ conscience from dead works, to serve the living God V 

David knew already that in this ceremony a spirit- 
ual purification was presented, and he prayed that 
God might fulfill it in him. He felt that his sin had 
brought him under the power of death, and that he 
was unprepared to serve the living God until he was 
first cleansed by God Himself. The light of the Xew 
Testament, and especially this word from the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, shows us that this purification can 
take place only by the blood of Christ. Let us reflect 
what David's prayer, thus illumined by the word of 
God, can teach us. 

And it teaches us. first of all. hov: indispensdbU this 
cleansing is. It stands written twice over in that 
chapter (Xum. xix. 13. 20) : '"Whoever is unclean and 
shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 



95 



from the midst of the congregation, because he hath 
defiled the sanctuary of the Lord.' God is an holy 
God ; nothing that is stained with sin can stand before 
Him. He who had but touched the dead body might 
not enter into His temple. By this external strict- 
ness under the old covenant is represented the impos- 
sibility of any fellowship betwixt God and sin. He 
who remains in impurity is condemned to death. If 
he would please God and draw near to God, he must 
suffer himself to be purged with hyssop. God Him- 
self had in a wonderful way prepared a sacrifice, and 
water for cleansing, and there was no alternative but 
to be purified with hyssop or be cast out from the 
congregation of the Lord. In the New Testament it 
is not otherwise. God is the holy One. Sin cannot 
have fellowship with Him, God is the living God. 
Death may not draw near to Him ; our sins are many 
and we cannot blot them out. Even our apparently 
good works are but dead works. They bear in them- 
selves the tokens of sin and of the death of the cor- 
rupt nature out of which they spring. He that is 
not yet purified in the way appointed by God, through 
the sacrifice commanded by God, shall be cut off from 
the congregation. O my reader, pray understand 
this, nothing that you can do, no change or reforma- 
tion, can restore to you access to God. One thing is 
needful. You must be cleansed, and that by God 
Himself, otherwise you shall not enter into His 
heaven. By all the terror inspired by the thought of 
being cast out forever, I pray you, let this prayer of 



98 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



David become your own : ' Purge me with hyssop, 
and I shall be clean.' 

And David's prayer teaches us further that this 
purifying is to he found. The Spirit of God taught 
David to pray thus in harmony with what the types 
of the temple service taught. The ]S T ew Testament 
says to us : ' How much more shall the blood of 
Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to 
serve the living God. 5 Yes: the blood of Christ: 
that can cleanse us. The red heifer was killed and 
burned, and its blood was sprinkled upon the taber- 
nacle. The water of purifying made from the ashes 
of this sacrifice could cleanse no one. Jesus is the 
Perfect Sacrifice. He died for our sins. He has 
overcome the power of sin and of death, and brought 
it to naught. He has entered with His blood into the 
Holy Place. O soul, be assured that you also may 
be indeed purified and cleansed. Draw near to God 
with this humble prayer, that He would purge you, 
that He Himself would sprinkle you with this blood, 
and cause you to experience the power of it. He will 
do it. The blood of Jesus will cleanse you from all 
sin. If in faith, in the grace of Jesus, you seek to 
appropriate His blood, and on the ground of the word 
endeavor to hold fast the thought : that blood is also 
for me, the Spirit of God will give you the quiet as- 
surance that God Himself has taken away all your un- 
righteousness from you. Go to the fountain of 
Jesus' blood : present yourself there to God, praying, 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 97 



watching, trusting. To this faith it will surely be 
granted ; and you shall know that you are clean. 

' I hold my Saviour dear, 
For He makes me now appear, 
By His Word and Spirit clean 
From every stain of sin.' 

Yes : you shall know that you are pure ; not that 
your heart is so holy that you cannot any more com- 
mit sin, but so purified by the blood that sin is no 
more reckoned to you, and you yourself no more 
burdened with it ; and so purified by the Spirit which 
is communicated with the blood, that you have a clean 
heart in which the law of God is written and in which 
it lives. Thus did Jesus speak to His disciples : ' He 
that is washed has need only to wash his feet. He is 
clean every whit, and ye are clean. 5 

Reader, I pray you, let this prayer of David be- 
come your own : 6 Purge me, and I shall he clean? 
And the more earnestly you with your eye upon 
Jesus express that first word : 6 Purge me] the more 
powerfully shall the Spirit of God also apply to you 
that second word : ' / shall he clean? 



Thirteenth Day. 



0 

Jpabs mmv xt^on mt t # ^ob, 

1 Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow/ — Yer. lb. 

rPHE prayer to be washed, which we have already 
had in ver. 2, is once more repeated, but this 
time with an explanation of much importance added 
to it. He says to the Lord, what he believes, the 
wonderful power of that washing shall be : ' Wash me, 
and / shall he whiter than snow? The prayer for 
grace and forgiveness is found in very many, but they 
do not know what the answer is which they ought to 
expect. They do not believe that the prayer will be so 
gloriously heard, and that we shall be able to draw 
near to God with the blessed certitude of being whiter 
than snow. 

In order to understand this prayer thoroughly, it 
must first of all be observed that this word, ' Whiter 
than snow,' does not have reference to the inward re- 
newal and purifying of the heart. David does not 
say that when he is washed he will then be perfect 
and commit sin no more. One who has been washed 
clean may always again fall into the mire and become 

9S 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 



99 



soiled. Grace gives an inward purity ; only it does 
not come at once and in perfect form, but gradually 
and step by step. Of this David speaks later on 
when lie prays for a clean heart. But what he here 
speaks of is that entire freedom from guilt which 
every one receives with, the forgiveness of sins. 
When God forgives sins, He forgives at once and 
perfectly ; and at that moment when God forgives 
sins the soul is in His eyes and according to His holy 
law without a spot, and entirely clean. As the Lord 
Jesus said to Peter : ' He that is washed is clean every 
whit ' ; yea, ' whiter than snow.' 

' Wash me, and I shall he whiter than snow? Would 
that every one of us might make this whole prayer 
with all earnestness his own. The arguments that 
should urge you to this step are great and strong. 
Nothing less than this can keep you. You may per- 
haps think that this prayer of David is too high. ' So 
much I dare not ask for or expect, I shall be content 
with less.' My friend, with less you are not satisfied ; 
with everything that is less you will be lost. We 
have said before that the law of God stands at the 
gate of heaven and guards the entrance to it. It lets 
no one within who is not ' whiter than snow? That 
is the holiness of God and the perfection of the angels, 
and anything that is less clean and less holy is not ad- 
mitted into heaven. If there is one single stain in 
you the law will reject you. God will cast you out. 
The angels will cast you out. All heaven will cast 
you out, In the great day of judgment and of wrath, 



100 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



when the justice of God shall flash out against every- 
thing on which the least stain of sin is, to consume it 
in the flame of fire — Oh, then, nothing shall stand be- 
fore a holy God that is not 6 whiter than snow.' 

But hear further : ' nothing less is offered to you? 
If you had to take in hand the purifying of your- 
selves to this extent you might well despair. God 
Himself says : 6 For though thou wash thee with lye, 
and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked 
before Me.' But instead of this, all that is necessary 
for your salvation God Himself has prepared. When 
God forgives, He forgives perfectly. ' As far as 
the east is from the west, so far hath He removed 
our transgressions from us. The washing of the soul 
is God's work, an act of God's holy and all-prevailing 
grace. He is in a position to make it 6 whiter than 
snow.' It is the blood of Jesus in which we are 
washed. The power of divine holiness, which is to 
be found in that precious atoning blood, has the power 
to make whiter than snow. In other words, the guilt- 
annulling atonement of Jesus Christ is perfect ; His 
righteousness is perfect ; His merit is infinite. If His 
righteousness be imputed to me, I obtain it perfect 
and entire. If I have part in the Lord Jesus, my 
Surety, then I have Him wholly and altogether. 
Christ is not divided. I am in Him, in which case I 
have His full righteousness, or I am not in Him, and 
have no part in it. When Jesus bore the curse with 
us, it was not imputed to Him and laid upon Him ac- 
cording to the measure of His merit and worthiness, 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 101 

but according to ours. Now that we are endowed 
with grace along with Jesus before God, His right- 
eousness is bestowed upon us, not according to the 
measure of our merit, but according to that of Jesus. 
It was an act of the divine righteousness that Jesus 
came in our nature, and to take upon Himself our full 
curse. It is in like manner an act of the righteous- 
ness of God that we come to Him in Jesus to appro- 
priate to ourselves the complete righteousness of Jesus. 
Jesus is treated as identified with us, and, on this 
ground, as one upon whom the curse must rest. He 
who believes is one with Jesus, is treated as such, is 
accepted in Him, is ' whiter than snow.' God sees us 
in Christ. Our sins are entirely and completely for- 
given ; we are altogether acceptable to Him. He 
fulfills to us the word : c Though your sins be as scar- 
let, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be 
red like crimson, they shall be as wool.' Therefore 
let every one pray : ' Wash me, and I shall he whiter 
than snow? It is nothing less than this that God has 
offered to us. 

Nothing less than this can bring you full peace. 
Alas ! how many are there who are seeking a ground 
of peace with God in their own activity, and endeav- 
ors, and experiences. But they cannot find stable, 
full peace, the peace which Jesus gives, and passeth 
all understanding. Only when we can utter by faith 
that word : ' I shall be clean,' ' I shall be whiter than 
snow,' do we know what is meant by saying : ' Blessed 
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is cov- 



102 



HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. 



ered ' ; and what is meant by singing : ; Bless the Lord, 
O iny soul, who forgive th all thine iniquities.' Then 
a disquieted conscience obtains peace, full peace even 
in view of God and of sin, in view of the law and the 
curse, in view of death and of judgment : because the 
blood of Jesus makes 6 whiter than snow. 5 The soul re- 
joices with a joy that is unspeakable, and full of glory. 

Beloved reader, nothing less than this mast he your 
desire. What I ask you to do is to lay aside your own 
prayers and your own thoughts about that which God 
is to do for you, and to learn to pray as the Holy 
Spirit taught David : fi AYash me, and I shall be whiter 
than snow.' Take these words into your lips ; lay 
them up in your heart ; utter them continually before 
God in prayer ; make them a continual aspiration. 
You shall obtain a richer blessing than your prayers 
have perhaps brought you for years. These words will 
be to you a preparation for the gladness of that song of 
redemption which may be already sung here upon 
earth : ' Unto Him that loveth us, and loosed us from 
our sins by His blood ; and made us to be a kingdom, 
to be priests unto His God and Father ; to Him be 
the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen/ 

Beloved reader, let your faith now really receive 
this blessing. In Christ this grace is offered to you. 
Believe that through Him this goodness is prepared 
for you. Believe in Him, and you shall not only ask 
with confidence, but firmly believe God is doing it : 
He washes me, and I am whiter than snow. Oh, 
draw near to Him, and take the blessing out of His 
hand. 



Fourteenth Day, 



Pafoe imrtn xtpott me, Q (Sob* 

1 Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones which Thou 
hast "broken may rejoice/— Ver. 8. 

TAAVED does not simply long for forgiveness. He 
*J desires still more. He will also have joy, glad- 
ness, and exultation. This is to him a portion of the 
grace which he entreats. If this grace is to be full 
and free, then he expects that it will, in truth, fill his 
heart with gladness. 

There are many souls anxious about salvation that do 
not understand this. They think that it is too great and 
too large a blessing to desire from God, that He should 
cause such unworthy ones deep joy. They would be 
content to go bowed and depressed all their days, if 
they could but cherish the humble hope of one day 
coming into heaven. To ask for joy and gladness 
upon earth as well, is a thing of which they consider 
they are not worthy, and it is not fitting for them to 
expect it. And they think that this is humility. 
Alas ! no : they only desire always to measure grace 
in some sort according to their own merits, and then 
it is not real grace any more. 

103 



104 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



David exemplifies how we are to know better the 
God with whom we have to do, and how to cherish 
higher thoughts of the riches of grace. He knows 
that when God forgives, He forgives completely ; but 
when He receives any one again, He receives him 
with His whole heart. The Lord does not desire that 
there should be any cloud resting betwixt Him and 
the believing soul ; He desires that the soul should 
know that it is restored completely to His favor, as 
completely as if it had never committed sin, and that 
it may now rejoice with confidence in the forgiving 
love of God. This David knew ; and therefore al- 
though he had fallen amazingly low, when he asked 
for grace, he is not afraid to ask for entire restoration 
to the love of God, and for the blessed experience of 
it. ' Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the 
bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.' 

Oh that every penitent and anxious soul that uses 
this Psalm may learn to understand that he is entitled 
te> ask for nothing less, that it is proper for him to be 
ctntent with nothing less, than joy and gladness. God 
desires this on the part of His people : i Rejoice in the 
Lord ; and again I say unto you, Rejoice.' The Lord 
Jesus desires it also: ' These things have I spoken 
unto you that My joy may abide in you, and that your 
joy may be full.' The nature of the case, the glory 
of the reward, the love and beneficence of God all en- 
title us to expect that forgiveness shall impart joy. 

And if we would understand what this joy and 
gladness consists in, an explanation is readily given : 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 105 

just in receiving what he had prayed for, the cleansing 
of his sins. Yes : it was from the forgiveness of his sins 
that he expected such gladness. It was always the 
sense of his sin that had grieved and pained him so 
terribly ; and so long as he had no certitude concern- 
ing this blessing, he could have no peace. But when 
he only knew that God was reconciled to him, that 
his transgressions were blotted out of God's book, that 
he was washed whiter than snow, and thus restored to 
the favor of God, it was no wonder that he expected 
that his heart should be filled with joy and gladness. 
It was thus that he came to pray : 6 By the word of 
forgiveness spoken to my soul, cause me to hear joy 
and gladness.' 

How different is such an attitude from that of those 
who pray for a short time, and then once again seek 
their joy in the world, because they know nothing of 
the joy of God ; or of those who pray for forgive- 
ness, and yet do not believe that this blessing can fill 
them with joy ; who seek for the fountain of joy only 
in themselves, in some wonderful change of heart or 
holiness in their life. O souls, pray learn from David 
that at the very moment that you come believing to 
the blood of Jesus to receive forgiveness, you may be 
filled with the joy of God : ' Blessed is he whose 
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.' To 
the sinner, Jesus says : 6 Be of good cheer ; go in 
peace : your sins are forgiven you.' 

But whence comes it, then, that so many never 
arrive at this gladness \ To me it seems that this 



106 HAVE MERCY UPOK ME. 



verse of our Psalm points out a true reason. When 
David says : That the bones which Thou hast "broken 
may rejoice, 5 he reminds us how terrible his conviction 
of sin was. God had bruised him ; that is, he felt 
that God was his enemy, that the wrath of God was 
upon him, and that he could not withstand God, nor 
even stand before Him. The curse of God's law 
struck him down, and he lay bruised in the dust. The 
dread reality of sin, the astonishing nature and cer- 
tainty of God's wrath, bruised him to such an extent 
that there was no healing of him ; and now nothing 
can possibly comfort him, unless he is to receive com- 
plete forgiveness and complete restoration. If he were 
not certain of this, if there was to be the least doubt 
upon this point, he could rest no more. Was Gods 
forgiveness a reality for him. He desired to be as- 
sured of this by hearing God's voice of joy and glad- 
ness. 

And it seems to me that just here is found lurking 
the cause why so many never come to the joy of God, 
and never, indeed, once earnestly long for it. They 
have never yet truly felt their sins. They cannot yet 
speak to God of ' the bones which Thou hast broken.' 
They know that they are sinners ; but the conviction 
is a thing simply of the understanding. The fear of 
the Lord is never upon them. They have never yet 
been roused by the sense of God's wrath. They do 
not feel that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God. The Spirit has not convinced them 
of sin. They have never yet learned to cry out: 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 107 



k Woe is me, I am undone,' and therefore they feel so 
little need of joy, and of the certainty of God ? s for- 
giving love. 

O Lord, that Thou wouldst pour forth Thy Holy 
Spirit, that many might know their sins and feel real 
anxiety of soul. Would that the law might bruise 
them, that the curse might terrify them, that the cross 
might break them down, so that they should find no 
rest until they find forgiveness and the joy of God in 
the blood of the cross. 



Fifteenth Day. 



Jpabe OTcrcg upon me, (B (^Soir, 

* Hide Thy face from my sins/ — Ver. 9a. 

TT ERE we have a new expression for that which 
" David desired the grace of God to do for him. 
He expects that God will hide His face from his sin, 
and not see it any more. This also was one aim of the 
prayer : 6 Have mercy upon me, 0 God.' This blessing 
is in entire agreement with what the word of God 
teaches us. So long as our sins are not forgiven, they 
are represented as standing before the face of God in 
order to accuse us. He hears the accusation which they 
bring in against ns. He looks upon them in all their 
heinousness as a transgression of His law, and they 
awake His wrath and displeasure. So it is said (Ps. 
xc. 8) : 6 Thou hast set our iniquities hefore Thee, our 
secret sins in the light of Thy countenance' / and 
again (Jer. ii. 22) : i For though thou wash thee with 
lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is 
marked hefore Me, saith the Lord God.' In the 
bitter experience of his anxious soul this thought had 

108 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 



109 



become with David a terrible truth. He feels not 
only what he had confessed (ver. 3) : ' My sin is ever 
before me,' but what was more terrible, that his sin 
was ever before God, He saw his sins himself, and he 
was terrified ; but he also says (ver. 4) that God saw 
them. Every sin that he had committed was there 
before the face of God. God grant that every one of 
my readers may feel this. Then perhaps he may 
learn to understand the glory of David's prayer. He 
will then feel that every sin as soon as it is committed, 
goes to swell the list of his accusers before the face of 
God ; that whenever a sin is once committed, it is no 
longer in the power of man ; he can no more recall it 
or annul it ; no repentance or tears, no promise of 
new obedience, can cover it or take it away. Only an 
act of God, a wonderful act of God's free grace, can 
give the soul the blessed certainty ; my sin is no more 
before God's face. 

And what is this act of God ? In the verse we have 
as our text, David names it : Hide Thy face from my 
sin. 5 To hide the face from anything, means not to 
see it ; and this prayer of David is just according to 
what is elsewhere said ; as, for example (Num. xxiii. 
21) : 6 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither 
hath He seen perverseness in Israel.' So also Heze- 
kiah prays (Isa. xxxviii. 17) : ' But Thou hast, in love 
to my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption : 
for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.' So 
also speaks the prophet Micah (vii. 19) : ' He will turn 
again, and will have compassion for us ? He will 



110 



HATE MERCY TPO^ T ME. 



tread our iniquities under foot, and Thou wilt cast all 
their sins into the depths of the sea.' And in like 
manner speaks the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah : 
6 In those days, saith the Lord, shall the unrighteousness 
of Israel be sought for, but it shall not be found ; for 
I shall forgive it to all those whom I shall cause to 
remain.' These words of Scripture give us to under- 
stand what the forgiveness of God is. He casts our 
sins behind His back : He casts them into the depths 
of the sea, so that they can no more be found : He 
turns away His face from them, and sees them no 
more. 

Oh this is blessedness : to know that our sins are 
forgiven. Christ has brought them to naught. Our 
sins can no more stand up against us. The face of 
God averted from our sins is turned toward us in 
favor. God no longer sees our sin in wrath, but He 
looks upon us in mercy. This is nothing different 
from what in the New Testament is called Justifica- 
tion. When the sinner receives acquittal from his 
sins, then he is indeed a justified soul in the eyes of 
God. His former sins are no more to be found. 
God has hid His face from them ; and when the holy 
Judge no longer beholds them, then may the acquitted 
soul rejoice in the assurance of His favor and love. 

At this point, however, some one may ask : How 
can it be that the omniscient and faithful God, who 
knows my sins, nevertheless shuts His eyes to them, 
and takes no further cognizance of them ? He 
is always the perfectly righteous One; and that 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 1 11 

He should look upon sin and connive at it, is once 
and for all impossible. But when God averts His 
eyes from your sins, hides His face from your sins, 
casts your sins behind His back, He does this because 
through Jesus satisfaction for them has been found. 
When he receives from the Great Surety the assur- 
ance that you belong to Him, that you have part in 
the annulling of guilt by His blood, then God has no 
longer to deal with your sins ; they have been put 
away. And then it is just His righteousness which 
demands that He should no more remember your 
sins, but hide His face from your sins. So long as 
your sins are before Him, God must behold them ; 
but when they are imputed to Jesus, with the satis- 
faction of the Lord Jesus as your Surety imputed to 
you, God may not look upon them any more. They 
have been accounted for and put away. 

Thus also we learn in what spirit you are to make 
this prayer of David your own : 6 Hide Thy face from 
my sins.' Look upon the Lord Jesus as He has borne 
your sins on the cross, and annulled the guilt of them. 
Look upon the Lord Jesus with the complete atone- 
ment which He has wrought out as offered to you by 
God. Look upon Him as really given for yon by 
God in order that you may receive Him with confi- 
dence and come to God in Him. Yes : look upon 
Him through whom myriads have received the sen- 
tence of acquittal as also waiting for you. Look upon 
Him until your faith becomes living, and you can 
say: Jesus is also for me: God hides His face from 



112 



HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. 



my sins: ' Thou liast cast all ray sins behind Thy 
back.' 

Reader, this is a matter of great concern — of amaz- 
ing interest. Your sins are all before the face of 
God. They cry out for vengeance. Day and night 
their cry ascends to God : % This sinner has provoked 
Thee : He is worthy of the curse : O holy God, hide 
not Thy face from his sins.' And the law of God 
supports their entreaty : ' O holy God, they have 
transgressed Thy law : hide not Thy face from their 
sins.' And woe to the sinner who must experience 
that. For this reason, reader, let your prayer go up 
on the other hand to God : ' Hide Thy face from my 
sin.' Plead the promise of God and the blood of 
Jesus. Ask Jesus to become your intercessor. You 
shall experience that God hears this prayer ; that the 
blood of Jesus has great power ; and that He is in a 
position to cover your sins and to take them away 
from before God. 



Sixteenth Day. 



— — o ■ 

Jpiabe ttwrtg up0n me, # (lotr, 

' And blot out all mine iniquities.' — Yee. 95. 

THIS prayer is heard here for the second time. It 
-* was the first word that David made use of after 
he had begun to pray for mercy, in order to say what 
he desired from this mercy. He has already ex- 
pressed his desires by other different expressions, 
such as, ' Wash me,' 4 Cleanse me ' (ver. 2) ; 6 Purge 
me, Wash me ' (ver. 7) ; 6 Cause me to hear joy and 
gladness ' (ver. 8) ; ' Hide Thy face from my sin ' (ver. 
9) ; he now once more gathers all together in the 
deeply significant word : " Blot out all mine iniqui- 
ties.' 

For the explanation of this word, we have to refer 
to that which has already been said in ver. 1. It is 
of great importance for us to make use of this word 
for reflecting upon the preceding portion of the 
Psalm, and for testing ourselves as to whether we 
have any real knowledge of it. It is of the more in- 
terest to us because this is the last time that this point 

113 



114 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



is referred to in the Psalm. In the three following 
verses David asks for inward renewing of his heart 
'by the Spirit of God, and from ver. 13 to the end of 
the Psalm he speaks of the fruits of the thanksgiving 
which God's redemption is to bring forth. But be- 
fore he proceeds to this, he repeats once again the 
prayer : 4 Blot out all mine iniquities.' In this way he 
shows us that he was in dead earnest about this matter. 
He knows that it is the root and the beginning of all 
the rest ; that if there is no clear understanding be- 
twixt God and the sinner with respect to the forgive- 
ness of sins, there can be do further question about a 
new life. And therefore I also will deal with you, 
my beloved friend, on this matter with all earnest- 
ness, with all definiteness, and with all sincerity. I 
desire to put to you some questions concerning this 
all-important matter. 

Do vou thoroughly understand what the forgiveness 
of sins — the Hotting out of iniquities — is? Pray, do 
not imagine that this question is needless. I know 
many earnest Christians who do not thoroughly un- 
derstand this point. It will do us no harm once 
again to meditate upon this — the foundation of our 
redemption. Do you understand that the blotting 
out of all his iniquities is the first Messing which God 
desires to bestow upon the sinner who longs to be 
saved ? Do you understand that God is prepared to 
bestow it at once, without further delay or waiting, 
on every one who receives it trustfully ? He causes 
it to be offered to us continually. Do you understand 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 115 



that he who simply from the heart appropriates the 
offered Saviour with His blood, receives it for himself 
as a thing which comes to him in virtue of God's gift 
and offer, and that along with Jesus he actually re- 
ceives, iy faith, the Hotting out of his sins ? And 
do you know, further, that by this faith wherewith 
he receives Jesus on God's word he can certainly 
know that his sins are really blotted out of God's 
Book ; because the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Faith, 
bears witness to him of this forgiveness ? And do you 
understand that this blotting out is perfect and com- 
plete, or that by reason of it the soul appears before 
God ' whiter than snow? and can look up to God as 
a God who is no longer angry with it ? Do you un- 
derstand all this, or is it still to you all half uncer- 
tain ? And do you feel, when we speak of these 
things, as one who is still groping in the dark { I 
beseech you 5 see that you come to a clear understand- 
ing of these points ; for, my friend, your eternal sal- 
vation is concerned with it. 

And then I desire to ask further : Are you really 
seeTcing for forgiveness and the Hotting out of your 
iniquities f I do not ask if you know that yon need 
to be saved, if you are sometimes disquieted, if you 
sometimes pray, or if you perhaps pray every day : 
' Forgive us our sins.' No, my friend, I ask you 
something more than this. I ask if in the presence 
of God, the Searcher of hearts, you can say that you 
are known to Him (for He has a book for the names 
of all true seekers after Him) as one who really seeks 



116 



HAVE MERCY UP(OT ME. 



for forgiveness. Can God testify concerning you that 
you are hungering and thirsting for it ? Can you say 
that day by day you are seeking and striving for this 
grace as a thing that is indispensable ? Have you, to 
obtain this forgiveness, abandoned sin, willingly given 
up the world ? And are you now with earnest en- 
treaties, even at unusual times (for true seeking will 
hardly limit itself to some fixed hours), casting your- 
self before God in order to entreat it from Him, as 
the one blessing which He has to bestow upon you ? 
Yes : are you really seeking it in the house of prayer, 
in God's word, in the prayer of your own closet, as 
the one thing for which you are willing to count 
everything but loss ? It is worthy of being thus 
sought for. God desires that it should be thus sought 
for ; and only he who thus seeks for it shall obtain it. 

Are you really seeking for it in this fashion ? 

I have still another question. If you have not 
hitherto been seeking for this blotting out of your in- 
iquities, or have only begun desiring to seek for it, 
then this question does not concern you. But if you 
can say that you have been seeking for it, then I ask 
you : Have you indeed found it ? Are your sins for- 
given ? Do you know that, as surely and really as 
the guilt of your sin was upon you, so you are now 
really clean in God's sight, because He has blotted out 
all your iniquities. I know that many a one shrinks 
from these questions, but it is just on that account 
that I put them. "When David had prayed for mercy, 
he was not content with indefinite ideas about the 



THE PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. 117 

goodness of God. No : he knew what this goodness 
desired to do for him. He expected that it would do 
something real for him. He prays for the blotting out 
of his iniquities with the expectation of obtaining an 
answer to that prayer, and in the hope that thereafter 
the joy and the power of a new life would be fulfilled 
in him ; as he has so often sung of it in later Psalms, 
for example, in Ps. ciii. : 6 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 
who forgiveth all thine iniquities. 5 Therefore I ask 
you, my worthy reader, are your iniquities all blotted 
out ? Oh, if this is not yet the case, then you are not 
yet where you ought to be. You do not yet have any 
part in God's salvation, and thus I cry to you : 6 Haste 
thee to God.' Do not longer remain standing afar off. 
Pray, believe. This blessing is really to be found. 
This blessing is also for me : sin can be put away. Let 
your whole soul become fixed upon this one aim — the 
blotting out of sin. Without this blessing there is no 
salvation. God alone can give it. God desires to 
give it. God will give it. Yes : He will perform 
this divine deed for you. He will take away all your 
sins. Only let this prayer be heard from the depths 
of your heart : ' Blot out all mine iniquities.' Only 
let faith look upon Christ. The Son of God can save 
sinners. He that believes in Him shall not be 
ashamed. 



IV. 

THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 

10. Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a right 

spirit within me. 

11. Cast me not away from Thy presence ; and take not Thy 

Holy Spirit from me. 

12. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation ; and uphold 

me with a free spirit. 



119 



1 All mine iniquities blot out, 

Thy face hide from my sin. 
Create a clean heart, Lord, renew 
A right sp'rit me within. 

Cast me not from Thy sight, nor take 

Thy Holy Sp'rit away. 
Res tore me Thy sal cat io n 's jo y ; 

with Thy f re- Sp'rit me stay.' 

— Scottish Psalter, 



120 



Seventeenth Day. 



Ipafo mertn upon me, & (gotr, 

'Create in me a clean heart, 0 God/— Ver. 10a. 

Tis r a preceding verse David had prayed : ' Purge me 
with hyssop, and I shall be clean.' There we said 
that a man becomes clean when he is sprinkled with 
the blood of Jesus, and is thus purged, acquitted from 
his sin. In this verse David again prays to be made 
clean ; but the cleanness is to come in another fashion. 
He prays that the Lord may create within him a clean 
heart, that is, make a new heart for him that is clean 
by His divine power. He feels that there are two 
ways in which the unclean can become clean before 
God. The one is when he is washed and cleansed 
from his guilt in the blood of Jesus, judicially ac- 
quitted. The other, when he is renewed and in- 
wardly changed, and receives a new and clean heart 
in place of the old and unclean. Reader, if you would 
understand the way of salvation, the work of grace, 
and the prayer for grace aright, see to it that you 
have clear thoughts about this twofold purity, 

121 



122 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



The first is the portion of the soul when it becomes 
acquitted in virtue of the blood of Jesus. By the ac- 
quittal and forgiveness of God, whereby God casts sin 
behind His back, a man is entirely freed from the 
guilt that is resting upon him, and thus he is judicially 
clean ; that is to say, I have fulfilled the demands of 
the law ; I have paid my guilt, either by myself or by 
another as surety. In that case the law has naturally 
nothing more to demand from me. I stand in its eye 
guiltless and clean. The law always inquires only 
about what I have done and what I have been, not as 
to what I still am or as to what I am yet to do. And 
thus it may be that a judge ou earth may acquit or 
pronounce clean without implying that the heart of 
the acquitted man is clean, or that he is beyond the 
possibility of again committing the very same sin. 
In like manner, the sinner is acquitted and pronounced 
clean from all the sins which he has committed, with- 
out its thereby being implied that his heart is pure 
from the seeds of future sins. Yea : even though 
God knows that the heart is inwardly impure so far 
as sinful disposition is concerned, the sinner is pro- 
nounced clean by the law as soon as all the demands 
of the law are fulfilled. The demands of the law 
have been fulfilled by the precious Saviour, by His 
obedience and His suffering, and therefore it is 
that the appropriation of Jesus has for its conse- 
quence the blessing of being pronounced clean in 
His blood. This, then, is the purity of which David 
has spoken in the first half of the Psalm, the com- 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 



123 



plete forgiveness of sins, the being made 6 whiter 
than snow.' 

But this purity is not all that he needs. There is 
a second cleanness, the fruit and the consequence of 
the first. An earthly judge may acquit a man or pro- 
nounce him clean although his heart still continues to 
cleave to his sins, and he may go from the bench to 
commit them again. But God does not do this. He 
acquits the sinner, and pronounces him clean simply 
and only for Jesus' sake, not taking into consideration 
the inward condition of his heart. He does not, how- 
ever, leave him thus. As soon as He acquits him, He 
begins also the work of inward purification. The 
very same grace which teaches him to pray for the 
first purity, the judicial cleansing from the acquittal 
of the law, teaches him also to desire the second 
purity, the inward cleansing that comes through the 
renewing of the Spirit ; and therefore it is that David 
after he had entreated : 6 Purge me, and I shall be 
clean,' 6 "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,' 
prays here again : ' Create in me (inwardly also) a clean 
heart, O God.' The one is as indispensable as the 
other, or rather the two are one. They are but two 
different ways by which the purity of Jesus comes to 
man. As soon as a man believes, the righteousness 
of Christ is wholly reckoned to him, and at once he is 
on the ground of it welcome to God as one that is 
clean ; the inward communication of the purity of 
Jesus to the soul takes place by degrees. 

These two are one ; but they ought not on this 



124 HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 

account to be mixed up together. And this confusion 
takes place too frequently, to the unspeakable loss of 
poor souls. The one cleanness is a root, the other is 
a fruit. The one goes first, the other follows after. 
Observe this particularly. David has first prayed for 
the one (vers. 8, 9), thereafter he asks for the other. 
And, pray, never forget, anxious soul, that the first, the 
cleansing of the blood of Christ, is bestowed before 
you can inwardly receive the second, and that only he 
who receives and accepts the first shall have the 
power to obtain the second. 

Reader, let it be your prayer : ' Have mercy upon 
me, O God ; blot out my transgressions ; create in me 
a clean heart.' 

We understand now the place which this prayer 
occupies in this Psalm. It has prepared us to feel its 
meaning and its power all the better. May God teach 
us to offer up this prayer with deep earnestness and 
with our whole heart. 

The desire of the true suppliant must, above all 
things, go forth towards inward purity \ David is 
not content with praying simply for the forgive- 
ness of his transgressions. No : he had felt that his 
whole nature was inwardly corrupt. He desires also 
to be inwardly purified. He will not be content 
simply with acquittal from merited punishment. With 
this, alas ! many are quite content. No : he desires 
to be free also from the power and indwelling of sin. 
He desires to be holy, and to commit sin no more. 
He feels that only according to the measure of his 



THE PEAYEE FOE EENEWAL. 



125 



holiness can he enjoy God ; for, ' Blessed are the pure 
in heart : for they shall see God.' But, thou who art 
seeking for salvation, let nothing less than this be 
your desire. 

This clean heart must also be your expectation. 
God the Creator is also God the Renewer. He can 
do this. As the work of the first creation was not 
completed at once, but step by step, so also will it be 
with the renewal. The holy God can perform this 
work. He can make the unclean heart clean. It is 
not too wonderful for Him. This is what grace will 
do for you. Let your sure expectation reach out to 
this blessing. When you pray for forgiveness, let it 
only be as a step to the way to become holy. God is 
pure, God is holy, and no prayer will be more wel- 
come to Him than that He should make you holy 
also. - 4 Create in me a clean heart, O God.' 



Eighteenth Day. 



||abt mertg upon me, & diatx 

'And renew a steadfast spirit within me.'— Yer. 105. 

11/ HEN God creates a clean heart, then the man is 
born again. He is indeed a new creature. He 
has received the new life, the love of God. 

It is nevertheless not enough that a man should 
receive the new life. It must grow and be strength- 
ened. A weak child is really a living human crea- 
ture, and yet much remains which has to be done to 
him in order to preserve and nourish and lead that 
life until he comes to the full stature of a man. A 
weak child can stand and run ; but he must also learn 
to stand fast, and his goings must also be established. 

And this is what David here now prays for. He 
desires, not only the new life with the clean heart, but 
also a steadfast spirit That new life and that purity 
of heart are at the outset weak and tender. Very 
much has yet to be done in order to make it grow. 
The creation of God was not completed in one day : 
so also in the creation of a clean heart, time is needed 

126 



THE PEAT EE FOE EEXEWAL. 



127 



before everything is finished, and man enters upon his 
Sabbath, his divine rest. And because in the new 
creation, after God has implanted the first principle of 
life, man must vrillingly co-operate with God, so it is 
necessary that he should with a steadfast spirit sur- 
render himself to the Lord and His work. The be- 
ginning of the new creation does not depend upon a 
steadfast spirit, but certainly the progress of it does, 
and also the greater or less glory with which the crea- 
tion shall be brought to completion. 

Great loss may be incurred by separating these two 
prayers from one another. They are inwardly bound 
up with one another. He who is content when he 
thinks he has received a new heart, and does not then 
also strive with a steadfast spirit and with a resolute 
will to guard what he has received, and does not en- 
deavor to use and to increase what God has bestowed 
upon him, will speedily have to mourn that the joy 
of the clean heart has become lost. He who, on the 
other hand, works and prays for this steadfast spirit, 
shall have gloriously manifested within him by this 
means purity of heart and the splendor of the new 
creation, the full certitude and power of his heavenly 
birth. 

We must also pray that God would give to us a 
steadfast spirit.. Steadfast is the opposite of weak, 
uncertain, changeable, variable. What stands fast 
cannot be moved or overthrown. Such a spirit must 
be asked for from God in prayer. At the same time 
we must nevertheless also observe in what ways God 
w^orks and bestows this blessing. 



128 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



And this is the first thing that strikes us : 6 Faith 
is a sure foundation? He who stands upon it shall 
not be moved. Therefore we read (Ps. exii. 8) of 
the righteous man : ' His heart is established, trusting 
in the Lord ' ; and therefore Peter writes (1 Pet. v, 
9), ' steadfast in your faith,' and Paul (Col. i. 23), 
4 continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and 
not moved away from the hope of the gospel.' In 
Hebrew the word ' believe ' comes from a word which 
means to he steadfast, to standfast; and the word 
6 believe' just means to continue steadfast. Since 
God Himself is a steadfast Rock, the foundation of 
all certitude and steadfastness, it must be by faith or 
cleaving fast to God that man can become steadfast. 
If you would know what you ask of God when you 
pray for a steadfast spirit, this is the answer: the 
more that you cleave to God and commit yourself to 
His word and counsel, the mo* e steadfast shall you 
stand. And if you would know how God will bestow 
this steadfast spirit upon you, this is the answer : by 
the word. Let the word of God be your food : let it 
be inwardly assimilated and appropriated by you ; let 
it penetrate you wholly; let it be flesh and blood to 
your spirit. Strive by it to think what God thinks, to 
will what God wills, in everything to be of the same 
mind that God is, to grow by His word in you, to 
have it dwelling in you ; then you shall be estab- 
lished. In all your wishes and expectations, in all 
your desires and efforts, let what God has said be 
your rule, and a steadfast spirit will be renewed in 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 129 



you. If the word of God is thus the rock of your 
confidence, you will be just as little moved as there 
is variableness or shadow of turning with God. 

By what means, pray, was it that Abraham became 
strong in the faith in the midst of so many severe 
trials ? The root of his steadfastness was the promise 
of God. And whence was it, too, that Caleb and 
Joshua stood so firmly in the midst of the hundreds 
of thousands of Israel ? They held fast by the word 
of God. And how was it so also with many other 
believers? The answer is simple : 6 They that trust 
in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be 
moved, but abideth for ever' (Ps. cxxv. 1). It is 
God found in His word in whom the spirit obtains 
its steadfastness and strength. 

And if you would know further how a steadfast 
spirit will manifest itself, the answer is not difficult : 
in the resoluteness of a steadfast will exercising 
dominion over the spirit and the walk. The great 
defect of many believers, when they have the new 
heart, is that they do not set themselves with a stead- 
fast and resolute choice to east out sin and do the will 
of God. They do not actually obey the dictates of 
their conscience, the inward voice of the Spirit and 
the word : they do not unreservedly surrender them- 
selves actually to do the will of God as soon as they 
know it. It is fitting surely that there should be in 
every believer the holy purpose of doing the will of 
God without delay as soon as it is known. On this 
point may no uncertainty prevail : for there are many 



130 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



double-hearted souls who are unstable in all their 
ways. A divided heart makes them continually 
waver. 

For all such it is necessary to remember that along 
with the new heart and along with a sense of sin and 
good desire, there must also be a steadfast spirit which 
will be resolute, and which will set itself positively to 
fulfill all the commands of God. This steadfast spirit 
must be made a matter of much prayer: 'Kenew a 
steadfast spirit within me' ; and at the same time of 
much exercise in the strife against sin. He who 
seeks for it in prayer shall certainly become partaker 
of it, and he shall be able to join in David's song of 
deliverance (Ps. xl. 2) — 

1 He took ine from a fearful pit, 

And from the miry clay, 
And on a rock He set my feet, 
Establishing my way/ 

Header, do not forget it, In the prayer for grace, 
in the life of grace, the steadfast spirit must have a 
place. The young tree must not only be planted, but 
must become deeply rooted, otherwise it can bear no 
fruit. Let it therefore be a continual prayer with 
you : 6 Make my footsteps steadfast in Thy word, and 
let ' — observe what shall be the fruit of this — and 
' let not any iniquity have dominion over me.' 



Nineteenth Day, 



Jfafre tmmr upon true, # (§>ob, 

* Cast me not away from Thy presence/ — Yek. 11a. 

T\ AVID proceeds in his prayer to entreat the bless- 
- ings of the new life of grace, and teaches us also 
by the Holy Spirit what we may expect in that life 
and from this grace. The clean heart and the stead- 
fast spirit to act according to its dictates, these are 
great blessings. But there is still something more 
which he desires, and that is the light of GocPs coun- 
tenance. He prays for the blessed experience where- 
by the soul always walks in the presence of God as 
its friend, and in the consciousness that He looks 
down upon it in favor and love. 

The promise of this blessing in the word of God is 
very clear. It is frequently and expressly named as 
one of the privileges of God's children. For example 
(Ps. lxxxix. 15) : 4 Blessed is the people that know 
the joyful sound. They shall walk, O Lord, in the 
light of Thy countenance.' It cannot, indeed, be 
otherwise. What is the greatest joy of a child on 

131 



132 



HAVE MERCY UPOjST ME. 



earth ? It is when father or mother looks down upon 
it with good pleasure. Do we not often see that the 
little child plays quiet and content when it is simply 
with its mother in the room ? The mother is busy 
and the child is busy ; but the light of its mother's 
countenance, the feeling that she is near, is the joy 
of the child. And should God not bestow this privi- 
lege upon those who receive from Him the name and 
the rights of children ? Yes : He desires that in this 
world they should always move about before His face, 
in the light of His eye, and with the assurance and 
experience of His love. 

The value of this blessing may be easily under- 
stood. What a source of heavenly joy must it be to 
walk in the land of the living before the face of the 
Lord. What a joy to do all our work and to carry 
on our conflict as at the feet of our Father, knowing 
this: 'He looks down upon me with good pleasure. 5 
To be able to look up in every difficulty and in the 
midst of severe conflict, and once again to refresh 
myself with a glance at Him and to be encouraged 
by His divine friendship — what a power does it not 
give in conflict ; what a comfort in sorrow. 

And do you ask, perhaps, how this blessing can be 
enjoyed ? To this also the answer is not difficult. 
The child does not just need to be always looking to 
its mother to enjoy the light of her countenance. 
The child is busy with its play or its work, and yet it 
immediately observes when its mother goes out. In 
the midst of all its working and playing, it has al- 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 



133 



ways the hidden sense of her nearness. And just 
thus it may be with the true Christian. He can at- 
tain to being so closely knit to his God that he cannot 
miss His presence, and that in the midst of all the 
severe activities of his calling on earth, there may 
always remain in his soul the blessed feeling: 'My 
God sees me, and I can look up unto Him.' He 
works as under the eye of God. Through this living 
and ever active faith he beholds the Invisible One, 
and abides in His light. And just as on earth one 
walks and works in the light without just always 
thinking of it, so there streams around him the 
spiritual experience of the presence of God as the 
light of his soul. 

O forgiven soul, it is of the uttermost importance 
for you to understand what a principal part of true 
spiritual religion this experience makes. Do not for- 
get that the aim God has in view in His grace and 
your redemption is to restore the broken bond of fel- 
lowship and love betwixt Him and the sinner. True 
religion consists in this : that the soul should find its 
highest happiness in personal communion with God. 
Daily unbroken blessed intercourse betwixt God and 
you is what grace will bestow. Hence it is that you 
are taught in this prayer for grace that you must pray 
for this blessing, and strive after it. Every day, and 
the whole day, you must endeavor to walk in the 
light of God's countenance. And if you would know 
how one can get up to the point of so living that he 



♦ 



134 



HAVE MERCY UP03T 31 E. 



can enjoy this blessing, this Psalm gives yon the 
answer. 

In the first place, walk in a sense of the forgive- 
ness of si?is. Hold fast to the grace which has blotted 
ont yonr guilt. Every day bring each new sin to the 
blood of Jesus, in order that you may be anew washed 
from it. Seek every day a living conviction of the 
grace which beholds you in the righteousness of Jesus 
as ' whiter than snow.' Look up to the holy God, 
who for Jesus' sake pronounced you righteous, and 
loves you. Without this it will be a severe and 
heavy conflict, indeed, an impossibility to walk in the 
light of God's countenance. Remain steadfast in the 
faith that God is your God and your Father. By this 
faith alone can you continue in the enjoyment of the 
light and the love of God. 

In the second place, strive earnestly for purity and 
holiness of heart. Let the ardor of your soul flame 
out mightily against all inward impurity and sin. Be 
careful in watching the indwelling unholiness of your 
disposition. Remember that you are bound to hate 
it, as God hates it. Rouse yourself to the thought 
that you are redeemed to be holy, as God is holy ; 
and let this be your fervent and earnest prayer: ' A 
clean heart, O my God : a clean heart.' Knowing 
that the work of the new creation is not complete at 
once, cry mightily to God that He would accomplish 
His work in you. A redeemed soul who remains 
content with what he has, who does not earnestly de- 
sire to be holy, cannot walk in the light of God's 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 



135 



countenance. His woiidly-mindedness, his carnal un- 
circumspect disposition, is a cloud which must separ- 
ate him from God. 

And, in the third place, to walk before God's 
countenance, a steadfast spirit is also necessary. 
There must be, not a merely idle wish and a dead de- 
sire for the blessing, but steadfast resolve, and a pur- 
pose of the heart, the resolute choice of a strong will. 
Yes : forgiven soul, while you cleave to forgiveness 
and long earnestly for purity of heart, resolve in 
God's strength not to rest until you have experienced 
the blessing of abiding always in the secret enjoy- 
ment of God's countenance. Begin every morning 
with this steadfast purpose, and seal it in believing 
prayer, that God may keep you from everything that 
might cast you away from His presence. Let this be 
indeed your will, because it is also the w r ill of God, 
and you shall obtain the blessing. You shall experi- 
ence that grace will also do this for you, namely, will 
hear your prayer : 6 Cast me not away from Thy 
presence.' And in this blessed experience you shall 
be able to say with rejoicing (Ps. xxxi. 19) : ' Oh, 
how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up 
for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought 
for them that put their trust in Thee before the sons 
of men. In the covert of Thy presence shalt Thou 
hide them. Blessed be the Lord, for He hath shown 
me His marvelous loving-kindness.' 



Twentieth Day. 



Jpabe mercg upon nw, # (Soft, 

• And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.'- Yek. 11 b. 

T\AVID has sought a great blessing, a very gracious 
*J gift, from God : that he may walk always before 
His countenance, and in the light of it. He has asked 
that his whole life on earth and his whole being may 
be sanctified and illumined by the consciousness that 
in everything he is carrying out his life, as in the 
immediate presence of God, under His eye, and in 
His favor. He has desired that his whole life on 
earth might be spent in converse with His God in 
heaven. Glorious life, which grace is prepared to 
bestow. 

And yet there is something that is still higher and 
more glorious. That I may walk on earth in inter- 
course with God in heaven is indeed wonderful grace ; 
but that the Most High should come down from His 
heaven to dwell in my heart and consecrate it to be 
His temple — this surely is the full glory of what 
grace has destined for us. And this it is that David 

136 



THE PEAYEE EOE EEISTEWAL. 137 



now craves in the prayer : < Take not Thy Holy Spirit 
from me.' He yearns for the conscious indwelling 
of the Holy Ghost. 

Some may possibly imagine that this petition is 
not here in the proper place. Nothing is ever 
wrought in us, save by the Spirit : even the first con- 
viction of sin and the desire to pray for grace must 
come from Him. Must prayer for the Spirit, then, 
not precede all else ? The answer to this question 
may be given in these considerations. The working 
of the Holy Spirit in a sinner who has been roused 
to desire salvation is indeed indispensable, but it is 
hidden and unconscious. Such a one does not know 
that the anxiety arising from the conviction of sin 
and the earnest entreaties for mercy, of which he 
does not know in the least degree whether they shall 
be heard or not, are all the results of the Spirit's 
operations. On the other hand, when, at a later 
period, he does actually arrive at faith, he has the 
promise that he shall know the Spirit ; that He shall 
not only w T ork in him, but shall so dwell and estab- 
lish His presence in him that he shall both know and 
feel it. This, for example, is the promise held out 
to those who were awakened on the day of Pentecost, 
who had already, at the outset, experienced the oper- 
ation of the Spirit : 6 Eepent ye, and ye shall (there- 
after) receive the gift of the Holy Ghost' (Acts ii. 
38) ; just as the Lord Jesus Himself said to His dis- 
ciples after they had experienced the first workings 
of the Spirit : ' If ye love Me, ye will keep My com- 



138 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



mandments ; and 1 will pray the Father, and He 
shall give you another Comforter' (John xiv. 15, 16). 
Thus the prayer of David here is not a petition for 
the first operations of the Spirit with a view to con- 
version. Such prayer is necessary and according to 
the will of Grod, and innst be offered up. But the 
petition here looks to that indwelling of the Spirit of 
God which is the privilege of the believer. He 
dwells in them, to teach them (John xvi. 13, 11). to 
seal them and give them the assurance of son ship 
(Rom. viii. 15, 16), to sanctify and prepare them for 
heaven ('Rom. viii. 11). 

It is this lesson, accordingly, that is taught the be- 
liever in this petition, namely, to expect not only a 
clean heart, a steadfast spirit, and the light of God's 
face, but also the indwelling of God's Spirit in the 
heart. Every believer may have, and ought to expe- 
rience, this blessing. Without this he does not live 
according to the will of God. 

The prayer of David makes this clear : 1 Take not 
Thy Holy Spirit from me. 5 He speaks as one who 
has already received the Holy Spirit ; his petition is 
that the Spirit may not be taken from him. He feels 
that, although his former great sin had been forgiven 
him. he yet always runs the risk of grieving and 
quenching the Holy Spirit, so that he shall then have 
to remain without the blessed experience of His 
work. He knows that, however truly the Holy 
Spirit is the Spirit of grace who bears up the sinner 
with great compassion, He is still also the Holy Spirit 



THE PKAYEK FOR RENEWAL. 



139 



who is sure to be driven away by the love of sin. 
fie knows that through worldly-mindedness and 
worldly anxiety, through lack of thoughtfulness and 
reverent attention to His workings, injury is done to 
the Spirit, and He is grieved, with the result that 
He withdraws His presence from us. The same con- 
sequence flows from unfaithfulness in the use of the 
means of grace, such as the word and prayer, with 
which His operations are bound up. It is under the 
sense of this great danger that David prays : ' Take 
not Thy Holy Spirit from me.' 

This petition is a part of the prayer for grace ; for 
it is wholly due to the grace of God if the Holy 
Spirit is not taken away from believers. As often 
as injury is done to Him, He is dishonored and has 
reason to withdraw, so that, were He not really the 
Spirit of grace, He would certainly leave us. David 
hoped and entreated from the grace of God that the 
Spirit of God might not withdraw from him, even 
w T hen he might have deserved the loss. 

The lessons for the believer are especially these 
two. 

First of all, that the Holy Spirit will dwell in him. 
He who desires to be led in the way of grace by the 
hand of David must now know that if he would see 
preserved and confirmed the blessings on which his 
heart is set, namely, forgiveness, renewal, restoration 
to the favor of God ; if he would truly be all that 
grace would make him — then he must keep himself 
largely occupied with the promise of the Spirit, and 



140 



HA YE MERCY XJTOlt ME. 



must hold his desires firmly fixed upon it. Let him 
search in the word of God for all the promises con- 
cerning the operation of the Spirit. Let him know 
certainly this gift is held out to him. Let him yield 
himself unreservedly to the Lord, to experience this 
glorious grace. Let him seek to live daily in the 
fellowship of the Spirit : he shall experience that 
this is the highest blessing that is to be found on 
earth. 

In the second place, this blessing must be a distinct 
element in the prayer for grace. The soul that is 
desirous of salvation must feel that he is unworthy 
of this blessing, and forfeits it at every turn. He 
must every day observe that it is a favor that God 
does not take away His Spirit. He must feel that 
according to the measure of the earnestness of his de- 
sire and prayer and faith shall his growing establish- 
ment in this blessing take place, and his communion 
with the Spirit become more conscious and effectual. 
And according to this measure also shall the preced- 
ing blessings, of which this is the seal and the crown, 
be more richly and gloriously communicated to him ; 
while, on the other hand, the neglect of this prayer 
shall have as its consequence, not only the loss of this 
blessing, but also the obscuration of the other bless- 
ings that may have previously been enjoyed. Let it 
therefore be with all possible emphasis of entreaty 
that we say : ' Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.' 



Twenty-First Day 1 



nbt mmv upon trie, # (StfiX 



1 Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.'— Yek. 12a. 
rE have seen at an earlier stage of our studies that 



* T David spoke of a twofold cleanness. There 
was first a judicial cleanness, as freedom from guilt, 
the fruit of the divine acquittal, on the basis of the 
atonement of Christ, 'the being washed in the blood 
of Christ.' And there was also an inward cleanness, 
wrought in the soul by the creative and renewing 
energy of the Holy Spirit. 

Hence also he speaks of a twofold joy, as is mani- 
fest from the connection in which his words stand. 
He had previously said : 'Make me to hear joy and 
gladness' (ver. 8). Standing betwixt the repeated 
petition for forgiveness (cf. vers. 8, 9), that word has 
a distinct relation to the first joy over the forgiveness 
of sins. The prayer which we have here in ver. 12, 
on the other hand, following as it does expressions 
which point so clearly to the inner life of grace and 
sanctification, teaches us that the joy of God's salva- 




141 



142 



HAVE 3IERCY EPOX 3IE. 



tion is not only the desire and the portion of those 
just converted who are rejoicing in the first gladness 
of forgiveness, but is equally destined for the Chris- 
tian who is striving onward in the pathway of growth 
and sanctification. 

Let us bestow careful thought on this connection. 
We have already seen that the first joy of the soul 
that has received grace depends on the knowledge of 
forgiveness. The sinner that has once been awakened 
to know his sin cannot^ possibly rejoice in God, un- 
less he knows God as One who has blotted out his 
sin. He knows that, if this blessing has not been re- 
ceived by him, God is still his enemy, and a consum- 
ing fire. Only when the soul has come to the cross 
and received an interest in the atonement of Christ, 
can the thought of the holy God fill it with gladness. 
It is fellowship with the reconciling God that imparts 

And. in like manner, the continuance and growth 
of the soul's joy depends on deepening communion 
with this God. The very first act of God in begin- 
ning this fellowship with the soul, namely, the for- 
giveness of sins, imparts gladness. The next work of 
God in the soul is sanctification, in which, through 
His work of restoration, He establishes in it the clean 
heart and the steadfast spirit, a life in the light of 
His countenance, and the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit. This also gives joy. And just as little as 
the soul can experience its first gladness without for- 
givenesS) can it experience continued joy apart f rom 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 



143 



a holy life. As certainly as the guilt of the old sin 
robs the soul of all joy, until it knows that it is for- 
given, shall new contamination that is not confessed 
and put away fill the soul with darkness. 

Would that the young convert, the soul that de- 
sires to be saved and the soul that has received grace, 
reflected on this fact. The joy of forgiveness will not 
always remain, unless it be confirmed as the joy of 
sanctification. In this experience many a Christian 
has incurred heavy loss, through lack of carefulness 
or knowledge. When the first joy began to yield, he 
did not know what the reason was, or else he was un- 
faithful in not confessing the sad fact to God : he as- 
cribed the loss to God as a trial which He had sent 
him. Ah, had he only gone forward in the way of 
grace, had he but asked for grace, not only to be 
washed from guilt, but also to be liberated from the 
dominion of sin, he would have found by experience 
that with the progressive work of grace in the soul 
a progressive joy would have been ministered unto 
him by God. It is the joy of God's salvation for 
which David prays : there is joy in God's salvation : 
according as we only yield ourselves to God for it, 
faithfully and wholly, we shall enjoy it. 

And thus this twofold joy is one. We have already 
said this of the twofold purity. It is thus also with 
the joy. It is sin that entails pain and misery. It is 
becoming free from sin that imparts light and glad- 
ness. It is one God that first rolls away the curse 
and the guilt of sin, in one moment, and then grad- 



144 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



ually makes the soul free from its power : the joy is 
also one. The soul that rejoices in forgiveness ought 
to know that there is joy, a joy that is still sweeter, 
still deeper, still more glorious than this, when the 
emancipation from sin and fellowship with God that 
grace begins with forgiveness are continued and are 
with inward appropriation applied and confirmed in 
the sanctification of the soul. The joy of forgiveness 
is but the beginning, the first-fruits, and is destined 
for the newly-born child of God : it is the milk of the 
blessing : the joy of sanctification and of fellowship 
with God is for those that have grown up : it is the 
solid food, the ripe fruit of joy. 

Set thyself then, soul that desirest to be saved, and 
hast come thus far with David in this Psalm, to let 
this petition sink deep into thy heart. The joy and 
the blessedness of God are His perfect holiness. The 
joy of His children also is the joy of holiness. TVith- 
out a clean heart and a holy walk the Christian can- 
not continuously experience joy. The life of sanctifi- 
cation is joy. The way of the blessed life, the way 
of the clean heart and the steadfast spirit, the life be- 
fore God's countenance under the leading of the 
Spirit, was once, indeed, represented as beset with 
groans and fears, and as a grievous way. God has 
changed it into a way of joy. Some sacrifice of the 
flesh may at the outset appear unwelcome and severe ; 
but God has declared that he who shall once for all 
and unreservedly yield himself to it. shall find in His 
service great reward and the joy of His salvation. It 



THE PRATER FOR RENEWAL. 



145 



is only in the measure that the salvation of God is 
appropriated effectually, and as an element of actual 
experience, that joy can be tasted. Joy is not, as 
some would have it, a separate gift which can be re- 
ceived and enjoyed apart from further experience of 
God's salvation ; no : it is the joy of that salvation, 
and is tasted just in proportion as the soul surrenders 
itself to that salvation, and to the redeeming, sancti- 
fying grace of God which bestows it. Hence it is 
that there are so many Christians who seek for the 
comfort and joy of redemption, and even pray for it, 
and yet do not find it; while those who are less anx- 
ious about joy, and simply concentrate their care on 
seeing and tasting the salvation of God, on knowing, 
believing, and doing all that the salvation of God re- 
quires, are of their own accord glad in the Lord, and 
are filled with the joy of His salvation. Let him 
who would be glad only cleave to the Lord, the 
source of all joy. Let him who would have joy sur- 
render himself to the salvation of the Lord : let him 
live first in the assurance of forgiveness and in devo- 
tion to sanctification : then he may with confidence 
ask and expect ' a joy that is unspeakable and full of 
glory. 5 



Twenty-Second Day. 



Habe mcrtg itpcm me, # (§otr, 

' And uphold me with a free spirit/— Yek. 12b, 
RACE first restores man to a right relation to 



^ God. Thereby it also restores him to a right 
relation to himself : and, as a result of this, he comes 
also to a right attitude towards his fellow-men. 
When grace makes the soul partaker of the favor of 
God and the Spirit of God, the joy of God's salva- 
tion is shed abroad in the heart, and then as the fruit 
of this prevenient blessing, heart and mouth are 
opened to make others acquainted with the grace of 
God. It is this blessing that David now entreats 
from the divine mercy. He feels his calling ; he is 
aware of his weakness ; in the midst of this infirmity 
he reckons on help from above. 

David realizes his calling. Every ransomed soul 
must be a witness and an example of the grace of 
God. For the honor of God and the salvation of 
others, he is bound to make known what great things 
the Lord has done for his soul. He knows that the 




146 



THE PRAYER FOR RENEWAL. 147 



living witness is better than the dead letter, and that 
the world shall be constrained to acknowledge the 
work of God and adore His grace, only when be- 
lievers confess with distinctness and boldness what 
God has done for them, and show r by word and walk 
that it is due to His compassion that they can set 
their seal to it that God is faithful. They must be 
in the presence of the world a convincing proof of 
what grace can really effect. Amongst men a candle 
is never lit to be hidden under a bushel ; and the 
Eternal desires that His people, the light of the 
world, should let their light shine. All this David 
knew : he will not repudiate what God has joined 
together; and as cordially as he had confessed his 
sin and entreated redemption, does he also prepare 
himself for the service of thanksgiving and of love. 

But he also knows his own weakness. He remem- 
bers how lightly his confidence before men might 
well be esteemed. He had experienced what every 
believer can testify to, how the world and all that is 
of the world, even though it should assume the form 
only of a slight departure from God towards sin, 
must shut the mouth, or, if the testimony is given, 
must render it ineffectual. The feeling which he ex- 
presses in another psalm, 'I have believed, therefore 
have I spoken,' was the utterance of his own experi- 
ence. He knew that unless he had the Spirit of 
faith he could not know how to speak aright. And 
with the consciousness that there was still in him so 
much of the fear of man as well as of sluggishness 



148 



HATE MERCY UPON ME. 



arid unfaithfulness, it was a matter of necessity for 
him, ere he passed to the promises of thanksgiving, 
to pour out a prayer for this gift of divine grace also : 
' Uphold me with a free spirit.' 

David knew that he could reckon upon it, that the 
grace of God would bestow this blessing also upon 
him. Grace not only imparts forgiveness of sins, 
renewal of heart and sanctification of life, but is also 
prepared to put the soul in a position to praise God 
and confess His name in the midst of every duty to 
which it is summoned. This is a point that believers 
understand too imperfectly and reflect on too little. 
They feel that the forgiveness of sin is an act of mere 
grace on the part of God : they acknowledge perhaps 
that the sanctification of the life must also be wrought 
by grace. They do not know that the free spirit, 
with its power, must also just as certainly be the gift 
of free grace. They are persuaded that the open 
confession of the grace of God and the proclamation 
of His goodness to others is indeed the work by 
which out of gratitude they are bound to requite the 
Lord, as with the best they have to give. But they 
feel that they are not equal to this duty, and continue 
often to lie helpless in their weakness and unfaith- 
fulness, full of self -accusation and self-reproach. 
They are not aware that grace not only begins the 
work of redemption, but also completes it ; that with 
the same certitude as when they first prayed for for- 
giveness, they may also expect that God will put 
them in a position to fulfill their vows of thanksgiv- 



THE PEAYEE FOE EEXEWAL. 



149 



tag. It was in the confidence that this was indeed 
the case that David prayed : c Have mercy upon me. 
Uphold me with a free spirit. 5 

£ A free spirit ' : the word yields very important 
points. £ "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
liberty,' freedom from all servitude, from all oppres- 
sion, freedom especially from the fear and doubt 
which more than all else weaken the soul. It is only in 
the life of the Spirit and the entire surrender of the 
heart to be filled by the Spirit of God that abiding 
freedom can be found. It is always only freedom 
before God that makes us free also in relation to man. 
And for this full confidence before God it is indis- 
pensable that we should resort much to Him, hold 
much fellowship with Him, and be conscious of 
maintaining an unreserved surrender to His will and 
service. He who has thus assured his heart before 
God shall never need to fear before any man. The 
continued unclouded consciousness of God's friend- 
ship, nourished in hidden conscientious intercourse 
with Him, will make the soul free from the dominion 
of the fear of man, and, besides, put it in a position 
to testify of the praise of God. 

Believer, pray for a free spirit. Grace will cer- 
tainly bestow it upon you. You hinder grace in its 
work if you remain without this blessing. You set 
yourselves in contentment with the half of what the 
grace of God is prepared to do for you. You defraud 
grace of the honor due to it, if you continue satisfied 
without this gift. It is due to you, it is your priv- 



150 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



ilege, and a portion destined for you by God, to walk 
with a free spirit in the face of the world and of sin, 
as one of God's redeemed, and as a child of the 
heavenly King. Only live the life of grace ; only 
receive the blessings of redemption as they are pre- 
sented in the verses of this Psalm ; let the joy of 
God's salvation fill you ; and in answer to prayer this 
free spirit also shall become your cherished posses- 
sion. If you do not yet have it, let your faith stretch 
out towards it and expect it : be much engaged in the 
sincere, earnest prayer: 'Uphold me with a free 
spirit': out of the riches of the grace of God, you 
shall certainly obtain it. 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 

13. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways ; 
And sinners shall be converted unto Thee. 

14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of 

my salvation ; 
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. 

15. O Lord, open Thou my lips; 

And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. 

16. For thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it ; 
Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. 

17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : 

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not 
despise. 

18. Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion : 
Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. 

Then shalt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteous- 
ness, in burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering; 
Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar 



151 



' Then will I teach TJiy icays unto 

those that transgressors be; 
And those that sinners are shall then 

be turned unto Thee. 

0 God, of my saltation God, 

me from blood-guiltiness 
Set free; then shall my tongue aloud 

sing of Thy righteousness. 

My closed lips. 0 Lord, by Thee 

let them be opened ; 
Then shall Thy praises by my mouth 

abroad be published. 

For Ihou desirst not sacrifice 

else would I give it Thee : 
Nor wilt Thou with burnt-offering 

at all delighted be. 

A broken spirit is to God 

a pleasing sacrifice : 
A broken and a contrite heart, 

Lord, Thou wilt not despise. 

Show kindness, and do good, 0 Lord, 

to Sio n , Th ine own h ill : 
The walls of Thy Jerusalem 

build up of Thy good will. 

Then righteous of rings shall Thee please, 

and off rings burnt, which they 
With whole burnt off rings, and with calces, 

shall on Thine altar lay.' 

— Scottish Psalter. 



152 



Twenty-Third Day. 



Jpafo mMxtr itjjon me, (& (Sotr. 

* Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways.' — Ver. 13a. 

TTERE begins the third chief part of this Psalm. 
^ The first was occupied with confession of sin. 
After this came prayer for the redemption David de- 
sired, namely, forgiveness of sin and renewal of the 
heart by the Spirit of God. And now comes what 
must always be the fruit of redemption : he will 
praise the Lord and make known His grace to others : 
as a servant of God he will yield himself to the great 
work of teaching transgressors God's wavs. 

This is the aim of God in the case of every soul to 
whom He manifests His grace. Of all God's children 
this word holds good : ' The people which I formed 
for Myself, that they might set forth My praise ' (Isa. 
xliii. 41) ; and every one of them falls in with the 
language of Paul : ' For this cause I obtained mercy, 
that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all 
His long-suffering for an example of them which 
should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life ' 

J53 



154 



HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. 



(1 Tim. i. 16). God must have honor from His work, 
and this honor is given to Him when a ransomed soul 
magnifies Him, and makes known the great things 
which He has done for him. 

• On earth no one lights a candle and puts it under 
a bushel : much less would the Most High God of 
heaven do so. To all whom He translates out of 
the kingdom of darkness He says: 'Ye are the light 
of the world : let your light shine. 5 Soul, if with 
David you have offered up this prayer for grace, and 
have hope that there is grace for you, then fix your 
attention carefully on that which the Holy Spirit 
would teach you from David's prayer. The design 
of grace is to make you a witness for the love of God, 
and at the same time a monument of His wonderful 
goodness. Let your soul surrender itself to this aim 
and plan of God, and say in His strength, w r hen you 
pray for grace : 6 Then will I teach transgressors Thy 
ways.' 

Do not imagine, however, that God requires this of 
you as a debt which you must pay to Him in return 
for your redemption. No : if you will only yield 
yourself to this work in the strength of grace, it will 
be your greatest joy to say : ' Then will I teach trans- 
gressors Thy ways.' When you think of the abyss 
out of which you have been rescued, and the glorious 
salvation which has become your portion ; of the deep 
misery in which others still lie overwhelmed, and how 
God's precious grace is also for them, mighty and 
ieady to redeem them as it has redeemed you, — your 



THE SACRIFICE OP THANKSGIVING. 155 



heart will be filled with compassion for sinners, and 
you will count it a blessing that you inav exercise the 
priYilege of speaking of this Jesus to others. When 
you reflect what the loYe of Jesus has done for you, 
and how much you haYe to thank Him for, this loYe 
will constrain you ; and as often as you pray anew : 
' O God, haYe mercy upon me, then will I teach 
transgressors Thy way,' the desire will be awakened 
in you that others also, who are still far from the 
precious SaYiour, and strangers to Him, may learn to 
know Him as you also now know Him. You have 
always the assurance that then only shall they be truly 
happy ; and what is more, that then also they will 
glorify the Lord. For you feel more than you are 
able to express in words, how truly worthy He is to 
be known and glorified. Yes: the mere thought that 
this and that 'transgressor 5 might be awakened to 
life, that this and that worldling might be changed 
into an example of the grace of God, — and this 
through your prayer and your teaching, — this, I say, 
is sufficient to make your heart burst open with joy. 
And this will not appear impossible to you, if you 
look to Him who has shown you favor, and to His loYe 
for sinners, which will deign to make use also of your 
serYice. 

But I know well what other reflections will easily 
sweep OYer you. You will also think of your own 
unfitness for this task, and you will feel that you do 
not know how you shall eYer be in a position to teach 
transgressors God's ways. The joy and the gladness 



156 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



of redemption are well nigh taken away from you, 
through dread of having to face this great and heavy 
duty. Not so, my friend. Pray, observe that this 
promise emerges in a prayer — in a prayer for grace. 
David only says that, if God shows him favor, re- 
stores to him the joy of His salvation, and grants him 
the upholding of a free spirit, he will then teach 
transgressors His ways. Oh, the Lord does not re- 
quire of you more than what He Himself will enable 
you to perform. Pray, forget not that to one who has 
had his heart filled with grace it is a source of pleas- 
ure, a joy, to make others acquainted with Jesus. 
Acknowledge that the reason why it is felt so irk- 
some to speak of Jesus is nothing but the fact that we 
ourselves are content with so little of the grace of God, 
that we do not yield ourselves to be wholly filled 
with it. Let the fear and the irksomeness which you 
feel convince you that you do not yet have as much 
grace as God is prepared to give. God would fain 
give to every soul so much blessing that his mouth 
shall overflow, because his heart is full ; that he shall 
not be able to remain silent; that love to Jesus and 
to souls shall constrain him to speak. Go therefore 
to God again, and still more earnestly, with the 
prayer for the full joy of the forgiveness of sins and 
for the full indwelling of the Spirit : then will you 
also teach transgressors His ways. Set this duty con- 
stantly before you. It is this that God desires from 
those that have been enriched with grace. It is this 
service that grace will enable you to render. It is 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 157 



this by which the true joy and the full power of 
grace shall be first discovered. 

Perhaps you ask where and when, to whom and 
how, you are to teach God's ways. My brother, all 
this the Lord Himself will make known to you. The 
constraint of loye itself will teach you this. Love 
will seek opportunities, will create opportunities. 
Are you lying on a sickbed ? You have still a grand 
opportunity of teaching others. Is your circle of 
acquaintance narrow and limited? In your own 
house there may be some to whom the ways of God 
are unknown. Are you simple and ignorant ? It is 
the words of such that oftentimes find the fullest en- 
trance into the hearts of others. Oh, the world is 
full of transgressors ; and the heart of Jesus is full of 
love. If you have really tasted His love, you must 
admit that there can be no work so glorious as to be 
the messenger and the servitor of this love to redeem 
souls that are going to perdition. And if, besides 
this, you know that this grace which has made you 
alive from the dead is also able to open your mouth, 
and thereby bestow this wondrous blessing on others, 
this also is wrought out in you for a worthy end. 
Brother, forget it not : every soul that has been en- 
dowed with grace is called to the work of teaching 
transgressors God's ways, and shall receive strength 
to carry it out with a willing and joyful heart. 



Twenty-Fourth Day. 



0 

Jpafcre wrg upcrn me, # (lotr, 

1 And sinners shall be converted unto Thee/— Ver. 135. 

E have seen that David had sinned deeply, and 
still felt his fall keenly. If there was any one 
who had reason to stand ashamed, never to trust him- 
self, and to be silent, it was David. If there was 
any one who had reason to say that he did not know 
to what plight he might yet come, it was David. 
And if there was any one who had reason to say that, 
by his unfaithfulness and the reproach which he had 
brought on his earlier profession, he had no right to 
speak, and no one was under an obligation to listen to 
him, and that on account of his sin his words would 
be stripped of all force, it was David. How exalted 
he had been in other days, and how deeply had he 
fallen now. But no : in this Psalm David is in con- 
verse with God and His grace : in his prayer he al- 
ready anticipates the glory of God's grace. He feels 
that the grace of God is more powerful than his sin, 
and that as grace could take away his sin before God, 

158 




THE SACKIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 159 



so also it could bring it about that his sin should not 
prevent his access to men. He feels that if grace 
had redeemed him, the chief of sinners, and had 
shown its great goodness to him, it would also be pre- 
pared to make use of him as a blessing to others. 
And therefore he not only promises : 6 1 will teach 
transgressors Thy ways,' but also believes that God 
will certainly bless his work : ' Sinners shall be con- 
verted unto Thee.' He trusts in grace for others, 
even as for himself. The grace which has blessed 
him will make him a blessing. 'I will teach trans- 
gressors Thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted 
unto Thee.' 

It may be easily conceived what a power there 
must be in such a confidence that there shall be bless- 
ing upon our work. AVith what spirit, with what 
pleasure, will one work in the sure prospect that God 
will give the increase. And the great question for 
us must be this : how shall we succeed in cherishing 
this believing persuasion ? Let us consider carefully 
on what foundation it rests. 

Remember, first of all, that conversion is given in 
the use of means. 6 1 will teach transgressors ; sin- 
ners shall he converted.' It is not enough to mourn 
over the poor unbelieving world. It is not even 
enough to pray for the conversion of sinners. Some- 
thing more is necessary. They must be taught. 
And this teaching must not simply be dispensed on 
the Lord's day, or be handed over to the preachers 
of the gospel: every believer must within his own 



160 



HAVE MERCY UPO]S T ME. 



circle faithfully perform and carry out the promise 
of the text. On the back of the prayer: 'Have 
mercy upon me,' must the promise follow: 'I will 
teach ' ; God is faithful to grant conversion. Oh what 
a marvelous change would take place in a congrega- 
tion, if, with all wisdom and perseverance, unani- 
mously and continuously, every believer were a wit- 
ness for God : the faithful use of means would give 
courage for the expectation : ' Sinners shall be con- 
verted unto Thee.' 

Observe, further, in what spirit the means are to 
be used. David says that, as one who had been par- 
doned, who had received the forgiveness of God and 
the joy of His salvation, he will teach transgressors. 
Oh, it is this that is the chief concern. Alas ! how 
many preachers, and Sabbath-school teachers, and 
Christian elders and friends are there in whose teach- 
ing there is no power, and who never see the f ulfil- 
ment of the hope : ' Sinners shall be converted unto 
Thee.' It is not that they are not zealous, or that 
they do not teach the truth, even the truths of this 
Psalm ; but they do not speak in the living experi- 
ence of this grace. They teach in the power of a 
knowledge of the truths of Scripture, or in the power 
of an earlier spiritual experience. But this is not 
enough. No, brother : if you would see the teach- 
ing and conversion of sinners, there must be in you 
a living and effective experience of the grace of God. 
The blotting out of your guilt in a tender and daily 
use of the blood of Jesus must be the joy of your 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 161 



soul. Your walk in a progressive sanctifieation must 
be carried out through the purifying of your heart 
and the renewing of a steadfast spirit in your inmost 
life. With the prayer: ' Take not Thy Holy Spirit 
from me, 5 your whole being must be that of one in 
whose heart Jesus makes His abode. With the earn- 
est petition : ' Uphold me with a free spirit,' the pur- 
pose must at every turn be renewed and carried into 
execution: 'I will teach transgressors Thy ways.' 

This must at least be your effort, your prayer. 
When, chiming in with the aspiration of this Psalm, 
you say : ' Then will I teach,' you may also surely 
add : * sinners shall be converted unto Thee.' Let 
your teaching of others only be the fruit of indwell- 
ing grace : it cannot remain unblessed. Yes, believe : 
bathe daily in the blood of Jesus; seek daily the 
anointing of His Spirit ; live near to Jesus, and ' sin- 
ners shall be converted.' 

And observe especially that this confidence must 
be nourished and expressed in prayer. David did 
not look to himself and his power: it was while he 
was looking up to God in prayer that David uttered 
that glorious word of faith. And indeed it is no 
light thing for any suppliant to express such confi- 
dence in connection with his work. Many a one 
would regard and treat it as harsh arrogance, if we 
were to say to him that this utterance of David's 
prayer is not adapted to him. No, brother : if you 
will only utter the words as David did, they are also 
for you. Following on the continuous and repeated 



162 



HAVE MERCY UPON 3IE. 



prayer for grace in all its varied operations ; follow- 
ing on the habitual surrender of yourself to the ser- 
vice of the Lord ; uttered on the knees, with the eye 
fixed on this God who has shown to you His effect- 
ual grace, — this hope is not too much to cherish : ' I 
will teach, and sinners shall be converted.' And if 
at the outset you may not altogether succeed in using 
these words in full faith, then take the utterance 
again into your lips, express the hope again on your 
knees to Him who sits on the throne of grace ; only 
begin with the first starting-point: 'Have mercy 
upon me, O God,' and climb this wonderful ladder 
of prayer by the various steps of the spiritual life ; 
make sure of each stage in your own heart by the 
way until you come to this: ' I will teach trans- 
gressors ' ; and the Spirit of prayer, who has taught 
you to use all the other petitions, will not break off 
His work at this point: He will enable yon to utter 
this word also with increasing confidence: 'Sinners 
shall be converted unto Thee? And just as prayer 
and conflict became the power that led to the utter- 
ance of this word, so shall this word in return be- 
come your power to say to sinners : ' Sinners shall be 
converted ; I will teach transgressors.' 

' Have mercy upon me, O God. Then will I teach 
transgressors; and sinners shall be converted unto 
Thee.' 



Twenty-Fifth 



Day. 



Jfafo nurcg trpan nw, 6 (§o£r* 

'Deliver me from blood- guiltiness, 0 God, Thou God of my 
salvation.'— Ver. 14. 

T\A.VID has made a great promise: he is to teach 
transgressors God's ways, And he has at the 
same time uttered a high expectation : by his teach- 
ing sinners shall be converted. The words, however, 
are scarcely out of his lips when he feels again how 
deeply sinful he is, and how it can only be in the ex- 
perience of supernatural grace that such a happy re- 
sult shall ever be achieved. He feels that the blood 
of Uriah still adheres to him, and has defiled him in 
the presence of God and man; and that it can only 
be if God bestows upon him the perfect and living 
assurance that he is fully acquitted from his sins, 
that he shah ever be able to praise God in truth. 

I find here again confirmed the important lesson I 
have already taught, namely, that the living personal 
experience of grace is a certain power in work for 
others. The soul must be steadfast in the enjoyment 
of its own redemption. There must not merely be 

163 



164 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



the remembrance of forgiveness and grace, experi- 
enced at an earlier stage : this is not enough. There 
must be every day anew the divine assurance that 
we ourselves are redeemed by God. There must be 
a living consciousness of redemption as a present 
fact, a continually renewed, an ever fresh exercise of 
fellowship with the God of redemption. The soul 
that does not thus know God cannot make Him 
known with power to others. David felt this. The 
murderer of Uriah, stained with the guilt of blood, 
how should he be able to bring life to others whilst 
he is still bound to give an account of the blood of 
Uriah ? 

And thus it is impossible for me rightly to teach 
ethers, if I do not know God aright myself. And 
that man does not know God aright who does not 
know Him as the God of forgiveness. Moreover, 
this knowledge cannot be living and real, if it is not 
continually renewed from heaven by the Holy Spirit. 
Every time that, in accordance with my purpose of 
teaching transgressors, and my hope that sinners 
shall be converted, I am prepared to give my testi- 
mony, it must be with the prayer, ever expressed 
anew: 'Deliver me, O God, Thou God of my salva- 
tion. Then shall my tongue sing aloud of Thy right- 
eousness. 5 

When one considers the words of this petition 
closely, these thoughts will be found to be still more 
fully confirmed. Let us reflect on the word that is 
here used in this prayer: Deliver me from blood- 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 165 



guiltiness. This is a term that we have not as yet 
met with in this Psalm. It is commonly used, not 
so much of setting free from sin, as of deliverance 
from eriemies that pursue and oppress us. It is thus, 
for example, in the prayer: ' Deliver us from the 
Evil One'; and it is from this point of view that 
David now contemplates his sins. That God has 
forgiven them to him, he believes. That he has also 
been washed from them, he is also assured. But, lo ! 
there sometimes come occasions in the life of the 
believer when sins that have long since been for- 
given, as it were, rise up again and pursue and over- 
take the soul. God has forgiven them ; but he that 
committed them cannot, however, forget them, and 
stands in dread of a new outbreak of their violence. 
The great enemy of souls then makes use of these 
times of oppression and of these sins to cast down 
the soul utterly to the dust. In that case there is 
but one remedy. God alone can then deliver us 
from the heavy sense of guilt. But He can do it. 
He can give us such a view of the completeness of 
His forgiveness and grace, that we shall stand thor- 
oughly delivered out of the hand of our enemies, and 
know assuredly that sin shall have no more dominion 
over us. He can make us understand the full sig- 
nificance of the glorious words of the New Testa- 
ment : ' He was manifested to take away sins,' in 
order that we may have 'no more conscience of sins' 
(1 John iii. 5 ; Heb. x. 2). Through the Holy Spirit, 
God grants to us to know the redemption of the 



366 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



Lord Jesus so fully, that we have in it the full an- 
swer to the petition : 6 Deliver me from blood-guilti- 
ness, 0 God, Thou God of my salvation.' And then 
the enjoyment of such a complete deliverance be- 
comes the urgent impulse to sing aloud of His right- 
eousness. O soul, who dost not yet know if thou 
canst celebrate God's praise, come and experience 
this blessing. Let it by the Holy Spirit become a 
matter of living knowledge in your heart, how glori- 
ous it is to be delivered by God ; and your mouth 
will then open of itself to celebrate the praise of this 
God. 

The same idea is found in the very name by which 
David here designates God : ' O God, Thou God of 
my salvation.' It is because he is the God of my 
salvation that I feel the joyful impulse to praise 
Him. The personal relation or connection betwixt 
God and men, the living assurance and experience of 
it, are indispensable for this end ; but they are at the 
same time all sufficient to stir me up to make Him 
known. And if any one would know how he is to 
succeed in calling God by this name, let him learn it 
from David. In the beginning of the Psalm, he was 
not yet prepared to use the appropriating word. He 
has several times addressed the Lord as 6 God,' but 
not yet as ' my God.' Under the power of continued 
prayer, however, as well as the constantly renewed en- 
treaty for grace, his faith is strengthened, and the 
Spirit of God has given him courage thus to cleave 
closely to God : ' Thou art the God of my salvation,' 



THE SACRIFICE OE THANKSGIVING. 167 



So shall it be with you also. If with every sin, old or 
new, you cast yourself before Him with entreaty for 
experience of the fullness of His grace — forgiveness, 
renewal, and complete redemption — courage will be 
given in the midst of such prayer to say with all the 
spiritual freedom of faith: 'The God of my salva- 
tion? May many that are looking for assurance of 
faith come to a right sense of this fact. It is not a 
matter for argumentation, but it is learned in prayer. 
He who would know from God whether he may 
truly say to Him : ' Thou art my God, the God of 
my salvation/ must obtain the privilege in prayer. 

And when the soul has thus once learned to use 
this language of faith towards God, it will not be so 
difficult for it to use it towards men. It is impossi- 
ble to use a twofold style of speech, such as that of 
freedom before God and that of hesitancy before men. 
As we speak to God in secret, must we confess Him in 
public. And the principal theme and chief char- 
acteristic of the announcement of glad tidings to 
others, as well as its special power, is the confession : 
He is the God of my salvation. What He has done 
for me, He can do also for you. As a witness I 
speak from experience : what the word says, I con- 
firm with all the certitude of personal knowledge: 
the God who has redeemed me will also redeem you. 



Twenty-Sixth Day. 



Jlabc nmtv upon nu, (D <§otr, 

'And my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. 
— Veb. 145. 

AXCE again, after the petition, comes the promise. 
" Grace does not selfishly long merely for per- 
sonal enjoyment or safety, but lays itself out for 
honor to God the Giver, and for blessing to others 
who have need of it. The renewed experience of 
fellowship with God, as the God of his salvation, will 
of itself bear the glorious fruit, that his tongue shall 
praise this God. ' Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, 
O God, Thou God of my salvation ; and my tongue 
shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.' 

The words of this promise are very significant and 
instructive. Observe, first of all, the main theme of 
this joyful celebration : it is the righteousness of 
God. It is as if this psalm of grace and redemption 
could not end without this word, the most glorious 
in which the work of God in connection with our re- 
demption is presented. It is the word that the Holy 
Spirit by preference uses to indicate to us as well the 

168 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 169 



origin as the way and the fruit of our redemption: 
the righteousness of God. It embraces in one word 
the attribute of God, which is glorified in our re- 
demption, the gift with which we are endued, and 
the operation and revelation of this redemption in 
our life. For the soul that is yearning to be saved, 
or for those that have been recently converted, the 
word grace has a most charming sound, and appears 
to be the most attractive and encouraging. The 
growing knowledge of grace will always bring the 
ransomed soul to the righteousness of God, as that in 
which the love of God has its foundation, and in 
which the believer thus also seeks his stability. And 
therefore to the first promise to teach transgressors 
God's ways, these words are added, namely, the re- 
solve especially to proclaim also His righteousness. 
Let us endeavor to understand this word. 

It indicates, first of all, the attribute of God that 
moves and guides Him in the bestowal of grace. 
Grace in the forgiveness of our unrighteousness is 
not exhibited at the expense of the righteousness of 
God. Xo : grace reigns through righteousness ; it is 
from the righteousness of God that grace derives its 
power. So John writes : 6 If we confess our sins, He 
is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins 5 ; as 
Paul also says : ' That God might be righteous when 
He justifies the ungodly ' (Rom. iii. 26, iv. 5). Hence 
it is that in the psalms and prophecies so frequent 
mention is made of this righteousness of God as that 
which His people specially celebrate and rejoice in. 



170 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



Some have not been able to understand this, and 
imagine that in these passages the word righteous- 
ness must be understood as synonymous with good- 
ness. But this is not the case. The righteousness of 
God, the disposition in Him by which He always 
does what is right, is the foundation of His throne, 
also of His throne of grace. Believers have from the 
beginning been led by the Spirit to understand that 
the only way by which the unrighteous can be re- 
deemed and become righteous must be that God, the 
only righteous One, shall communicate His righteous- 
ness to them. 

The phrase, ' Thy righteousness, 5 comes then to 
mean, further, the righteousness that is bestowed 
upon the sinner in God's gracious sentence of acquit- 
tal. David had prayed : ' Wash me, and I shall be 
whiter than snow. 5 That 'whiter than snow 5 can be 
maintained only in the possession of the righteous- 
ness of God. The 'New Testament makes it plain 
how this can be. In the Mediator, the man Christ 
Jesus, the righteousness of God is brought near to 
us. By His obedience and suffering He has brought 
in an everlasting righteousness ; and just as by the 
sin of the first Adam death reigned over all that be- 
long to him, so also by this one righteousness of the 
second Adam grace comes upon all that adhere to 
Him, unto justification of life. And as from Abra- 
ham onwards faith is reckoned for righteousness, so 
through all succeeding periods it is the grace of God 
which justifies the ungodly that has been the hope 



THE SACRIFICE OF THAN KSGIYIXG. 171 



and the joy of His people. 6 In the Lord shall all 
the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory ' (Isa. 
xlv. 25). 

Then, further, this word also signifies the effect of 
the grace of God. The sentence of acquittal by 
which God justifies the sinner, and the righteousness 
of Christ in which he obtains part, become in him a 
power of God for sanctification, are in him the seed 
of a new life of righteousness. £ He that doeth right- 
eousness is righteous, even as He is righteous' (1 
John iii. 7). Grace reigns through righteousness 
unto life. Grace renews the soul after the likeness, 
and the spirit of the Righteous One and the right- 
eousness of God in Christ, first imputed by faith, be- 
comes the new nature in which God's children walk. 
4 If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that 
every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten 
of Him.' 

This is, according to the New Testament, the full 
signification of this word, ' the righteousness of God.' 
And it was just of this that David said, ' My tongue 
shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.' He was to 
glory in it. He saw such glory in it ; the revelation 
of it was for his soul so delightful and worthy of ad- 
miration, that he was not only to speak of it, but was 
also to celebrate its value and praise : he was to glory 
in it as something that had now become his portion. 
He was to praise it joyfully. It would be observed 
of him that this was not a burden laid upon him, a 
thing of the mere fulfillment of duty, but something 



172 



HAVE MERCY EPOX ME. 



that was his delight : he was to speak of it with joy 
and gladness. 

Redeemed soul, let it be thus with you. On every 
occasion draw near to God for a new. divine, effectual 
experience of the righteous grace of the Lord in the 
complete deliverance from your guilt. Your mouth 
will then become open to celebrate joyfully the right- 
eousness of the Lord. Every repetition of the prayer : 
'Deliver me, O God, Thou God of my salvation/ will 
give you strength and joy for the promise : 1 And my 
tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.' 



Twenty-Seventh Day. 



Jpafo nieces upn me, (D (§0^ 

' 0 Lord, open Thou my lips ; and my mouth shall show forth 
Thy praise.' — Yer. 15. 

A2s CE again the promise to celebrate God's praise 
^ is repeated, preceded, however, by the prayer 
that grace itself would give strength for the fulfill- 
ment of it. We have already seen how self-evident 
it is that the full and living experience of God's sal- 
vation will agree to praise God : just as, on the other 
hand, this tribute is, without the experience, an im- 
possibility. We see here further, however, that this 
is also a gift which must be asked from grace in 
prayer, and will then be certainly obtained. 

This petition reminds us of the natural reluctance 
and inability of man to speak of God and to witness 
of His grace. The experience of almost every be- 
liever may serve as a confirmation of this truth. How 
much is there indeed to shut the mouth, even when 
the soul enjoys the grace of God, and is eagerly de- 
sirous to work for Him. At one time, for instance, 
it is the fear of man which turns back before the 

173 



174 



HAVE MEECY UPOK ME. 



possibility of mockery and contempt. At another it 
is unbelief, which, under the sense of its own unfit- 
ness, or the remembrance how often the most earnest 
endeavors are fruitless, take away all courage and 
delight in the work. Then, again, there is that 
hidden self-interestedness which finds an excuse in 
its own poverty, and the need of working in its own 
soul. And yet, once more, there is that show of 
humility which is afraid of doing injury to God's 
name by confessing Him now, and then presently 
becoming disloyal and unfaithful, and which also 
learns to say that one can often do more by silence 
than by speech. Alas ! many a believer could tell us 
of a time when he desired to work for the Lord, of 
months and years spent in wishing and longing, of 
brief endeavors and swift disappointments, until the 
shut lips became fixed into a habit, and the conscience, 
by all sorts of excuses, had brought itself into a state 
of entire passivity. Would that they had only under- 
stood what the true middle way is betwixt sinful 
silence and precipitate and fruitless speech. Would 
that they had but understood that, along with the 
forgiveness of sins and the renewal of the life, grace 
will also give the opening of the lips ; and that 
the continued prayer : ' Have mercy upon me, O 
God, open my lips/ will obtain a sure and blessed 
hearing. 

This prayer, then, recorded here by the Spirit of 
God, assures us that the Lord can and will open the 
lips. He who sincerely desires to believe that has 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 



175 



only to reflect on what stands recorded in the word 
of God on this point. Read the history of Moses, 
and let the wonderful arguments by which God 
showed him His power to bestow upon him a speak- 
ing mouth, sink deep into your soul (Ex. iv. 10-12). 
Every one who will humbly and earnestly listen to the 
divine words of encouragement will be strengthened 
in this confidence. Read also the story of the calling 
of Jeremiah (Jer. i. 7-9) and of the other prophets, and 
see how fully He presents the power to speak as one 
of His gifts. Consider the promises of the Old Tes- 
tament about the gift of the Spirit, and observe how 
it is coupled with the power to speak. Mark also the 
predictions of the Lord Jesus concerning witnessing 
for Him as the fruit of the gift of the Spirit (John 
xv. 26, 27 ; Acts i. 8). Remember how, on the day 
of Pentecost, the first manifestation of the power of 
the exalted Christ was to fill the mouth with God's 
praise ; and you will understand what a high place, 
what a divine certitude, is attached to the opening of 
the lips as a gift of grace, which truly belongs to us. 
God can give it. He has done so in the case of 
thousands. God will give it ; it is necessary for the 
accomplishment of His glorious work of grace. God 
shall give it. His promises are faithful. 4 Lord, open 
my lips ' : to this prayer we have as much right as to 
the other : ' Have mercy upon me, O God.' The one 
is heard as certainly as the other. 

David's prayer teaches us the way to obtain this 
gift. Whenever we mention a speaking mouth, many 



176 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



a one thinks of natural gifts ; and if he has it not, 
then he imagines that all that has been said has no 
application to his case. He will endeavor to serve 
God in other ways. He will thank God with his 
money, his influence, his example. This is all well 
enough, but it will not serve to liberate any one from 
the holy obligation of fulfilling his glorious calling to 
bring to God also the sacrifice of the lips. It was 
one of the tokens of the coming of the kingdom of 
God, that not only did the blind see, but also 6 the 
dumb spake, and praised God.' The grace of God 
not only takes the darkness from the eyes so as to 
make the soul know Him, but also opens the mouth 
to praise Him. 'Not only is many an unclean spirit 
cast out, but also the demon that was dumb. To ail 
the disciples there was given, along with the Holy 
Spirit, the mouth to praise God. In heaven there 
are no dumb men: every tongue there praises God. 
And the Christian, in whom the loosened, liberated 
tongue is not heard, is defective : he is lacking in one 
of the most glorious capabilities of the new man. 
There is no question here as to whether you have a 
natural gift for speaking; many a one who speaks 
little and that feebly receives from grace the capacity 
for achieving great results with that small and feeble 
gift. It is not beauty of language, it is power of life 
and spirit that the blessing depends on. Only let 
your desire to become partaker of this grace also be- 
come stronger, under a sense of your solemn obliga- 
tion to praise God and make Him known ; only let 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 177 



every experience of infirmity and inability urge you 
anew to confidence in the power and promise of God ; 
and out of such a desire and confidence let the prayer 
rise on high : 4 Lord, open Thou my lips ; and my 
mouth shall show T forth Thy praise ' ; and the answer 
shall not remain afar off. This course may indeed 
cost you much conflict and perseverance. This rich 
petition is not learned in one day ; the riches of grace 
are not exhausted in one day ; yet he that has the will 
shall obtain the blessing. Therefore, every time we 
use the prayer : ' Have mercy upon me, O God,' let 
it also be with us a fixed rale, a holy habit, to add the 
petition ; ' Lord, open Thou my lips ; and my mouth 
shall show forth Thy praise.' 



Twenty-Eighth Day, 



Pabe mercg upon me, (& (&oit. 

' For thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it : Thou 
hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. ' — Ver. 16. 

TN the joy of deliverance and thanksgiving, David 
has surrendered himself to God : from hence- 
forth he will live only to honor and to praise God. 
He nevertheless feels how little it is that he can do, 
and the question arises within him, if there be not 
still something more that the Lord might possibly 
desire and receive from him. He thinks of sacrifices. 
Might he not, by multiplying these, accomplish a 
work that would be acceptable to the Lord ? No: 
as soon as the question arises, it becomes clear to 
him that God has neither delight nor pleasure in 
sacrifices. 

The clearness with which David feels and ex- 
presses this is one of the deep spiritual lessons of 
this Psalm. In the hidden part, God has made him 
to know wisdom. Sin has become better known to 
him in the deep spiritual misery it entails than ever 
before. Grace has become known to him in its high 

178 



THE SACEIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 179 



spiritual power. He had experienced what the won- 
derful work of God in forgiveness and renewal was. 
He had learned to understand what the symbolical 
sprinklings and washings of the Old Testament in- 
dicated : he had experienced how God Himself 
washes and purifies the soul. And now along with 
this spiritual insight into sin and redemption, the 
Spirit has also unfolded to him the spirituality of the 
life of thankfulness, and shown how insufficient the 
service of external sacrifices would be. Under the 
old covenant there were two kinds of sacrifices : sin- 
offerings and guilt-offerings for atonement, thank- 
offerings and burnt-offerings to represent dedication 
to God. The discovery of the depths of sin has 
caused him to feel the need of something more than 
an external atonement by means of a sin-offering, 
namely, an effectual and divine atonement. Now 
also he understands that the power of such an atone- 
ment enables him to carry out more than a mere ex- 
ternal thank-offering, that is, an inward and spiritual 
dedication. 

This connection in the knowledge of cognate 
divine truths will always be seen. The deeper the 
acknowledgment of sin, the higher the apprehension 
of a divine supernatural grace, of the divinity of the 
Redeemer, of the working of the Spirit; and the 
more spiritual also the insight into the glory of that 
new life which grace is to enable us to live. 

In all these respects this Psalm, indeed, is a pro- 
phecy of the grace of the New Testament. It is 



180 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



always just in this utterance : £ Thou delightest not 
in sacrifice/ that the difference betwixt the Old and 
New r Testaments lies. Under the old covenant and 
according to the law, man must always bring to God 
and give to God something for taking away sin. In 
the gospel, on the other hand, God brings to man 
and gives him what can atone for sin. Under the 
oW covenant man must bring to God sacrifice in the 
hope that He may receive it. Under the new, on 
the contrary, God comes to man with a sacrifice, in 
order that he may receive it, and be blessed thereby. 
This is the meaning of the word of the prophet, re- 
peated by the Lord Jesus when He said to the Phari- 
sees : 4 Go ye and learn w r hat this meaneth, I desire 
mercy, and not sacrifice.' ISTot to require and bring 
sacrifices — for that was the characteristic of the old 
covenant — but to show and receive mercy, is the glory 
of the new covenant. And thus one who would fully 
enjoy the salvation of the gospel must above all en- 
deavor to understand the utterance : ' Thou delight- 
est not in sacrifice.' 

This word reminds us of the freedom of God's 
grace as a source of blessing. The spirit of law- 
righteousness and work-righteousness is so natural to 
us that we are always inclined to deal with God as 
6 an hard and austere man, 1 who makes heavy de- 
mands upon us. Would that we could abandon this 
tendency. God is a God who does not demand but 
gives, and gives freely ; and the secret of intercourse 
with Him is always to look to Him as a God from 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 181 



whom one may ask and expect everything. He de- 
lights in mercy, and not in sacrifice. 

That is true of the first grace of forgiveness. O 
soul, how long did you imagine that there was some- 
thing for you to do in order to become prepared for 
grace; that there was something which you had to 
bring and offer in order to be acceptable to God. 
And when faith became plain to you in its simplicity 
as the reception of what God had done for yoio and 
offered to you, your response was : ' Is that all ? Is 
salvation so near, and so easy to find ? ' Then you 
learned to understand what is meant by saying: 
' Thou delightest not in sacrifices.' 

The same thing is also true of the higher grace of 
sanctification. Holiness is not something that we 
must accomplish. Holiness is only in God, and we 
become holy only as He makes us partake of His 
holiness. Christ has been given to us for justifica- 
tion, but just as truly for sanctification. One who 
rightly understands that truth enjoys the salvation of 
the life of grace as a continuous appropriation and 
reception of the fullness that is in Christ. He knows 
now no longer to represent the life of the divine sal- 
vation as a severe and continued sacrifice, but as a 
glorious experience of what the grace of God in its 
power and riches works in him, Obedience is better, 
is something higher than sacrifice : this deeply sig- 
nificant utterance lays bare to us the secret of the 
true service of God. Kot what man does or brings, 
although it is also apparently the performance of the 



182 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



law, but the childlike disposition of loving subjec- 
tion, is the true fulfilling of the law. If the chief 
thought suggested by the service of God was once 
the earnestness, the difficulty, the self-sacrifice in- 
volved in it, he who believes comes in the long run 
to the discovery of the joy and the power of the life 
prepared for him through the compassion of God in 
Christ. His service of God becomes a service in the 
joy of love. Love speaks of no sacrifices. Others 
may indeed glory in the sacrifices which love brings : 
love itself does not reckon them to be sacrifices. 
They are to it a necessity, a delight : they are its life. 

A disposition like this, which has already acknowl- 
edgede th gracious attitude of God towards us, also 
discerns the application to our fellow-men of the 
word : ' I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' It 
knows how to meet with the fallen in the compassion 
and tenderness of love, not with the hard require- 
ments and sentences of the law. It understands the 
secret of the love through which transgressors shall 
learn God's wa} T s, and sinners shall be converted unto 
Him. ' Thou delightest not in sacrifice,' is the gos- 
pel of personal comfort which in turn is joyfully pro- 
claimed to others. 



TWINTY-N INTH DAY. 



o — - 

Jlabe mtxtv upon nu, # <§oix 

' The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a con 
trite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise/ — Ver. 17. 

TN the beginning of the Psalm, David had, out of 
his deep consciousness of guilt, given unmistak- 
able evidence that his heart was broken. We have 
seen it manifested in his case that a contrite spirit is 
a sure characteristic of the penitent soul who is seek- 
ing grace. In the course of the Psalm, however, his 
tone undergoes a change : he has spoken of joy and 
gladness, and has given promises full of courage and 
strength. One might almost imagine from this 
change that a broken heart is indeed to be had, w T hile 
grace as yet does not prevail ; but that later on, 
when grace has done its work, this spiritual condition 
is no longer an element in the case. As a matter of 
fact, it is far otherwise. Even in the life of grace, 
from the beginning on to the very end, the disposition 
with which God is especially well-pleased is that 
w r hich is presented in the expression — a broken and 
a contrite he&rt. Of the life of thanksgiving, which 

183 



184 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



the Spirit of the Lord desires to make us experience, 
this is an abiding and unmistakable feature: ' The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.' 

This utterance teaches us how thoroughly the 
broken spirit will, for the believer, be at all times a 
token of grace. God may according to His promise 
forget sin : the believer forgets it never. The sense 
of what it means to be a sinner is not superficial and 
transitory, something that is very speedily effaced. 
No: for the maintenance of the right relation, and 
the enjoyment of the right relation, and the enjoy- 
ment of the right kind of intercourse betwixt the Lord 
and His redeemed, it remains necessary that man 
should always continue mindful who he is, and how 
much he is indebted to grace. It is just as the Lord 
of old said to redeemed Israel : ' I will establish My 
covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am 
the Lord : that thou may est remember, and be con- 
founded, and never open thy mouth any more be- 
cause of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all 
that thou hast done, saith the Lord God 5 (Ezek. xvi. 
62, 63). It is not only the law, the sense of guilt, 
but especially the power of grace and forgiving love, 
that shall prove the means by which the soul shall 
be more and more, as time goes on, melted and hum- 
bled, yea bruised before God. It will often be just 
the most glorious proof of the goodness of God that 
shall overwhelm the soul, and make it remain contrite 
in the consciousness of its own unworthiness. 

This word teaches us, further, the complacency 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 185 



that God has in this spiritual disposition. God has 
no delight in sacrifice, no pleasure in the mere worth 
of the greatest external offerings that may be brought 
to Him. His sacrifice is a broken spirit. It is on 
the inner man, on the hidden man of the heart, that 
He looks: it is in spirit and in truth that He is to be 
worshipped. The sacrifice that He desires is a liv- 
ing spiritual sacrifice. And if the man who is seek- 
ing salvation, or has already found grace, feels that 
he has so little to bring to the Lord of what he may 
reasonably require, yea, nothing of the love, the zeal, 
the cordial self-surrender, the fervent thanksgiving, 
which He desires — at such a crisis this word comes 
in with grateful comfort : 'A broken and a contrite 
heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.' It reminds 
him that the Lord never finds so much delight in 
anything as in that feeling of poverty and failure 
which bows down the soul. This disposition makes 
the heart capable of receiving and duly appreciating 
the wonderful grace of God. This disposition teaches 
the soul to look awavfrom itself and seek evervthin^ 

O d ZD 

in God alone. This disposition gives glory to God 
alone. Over such a heart God bows down with in- 
expressible tenderness and complacency to fulfill 
gloriously in its experience the manifold promises of 
His word. Read the great utterances of Isaiah on 
this point (Isa. lvii. 15, lxvi. 1)^ that there is no place 
in the wide world in which the holy God, when He 
stoops from His glory, will so readily and so certainly 
set up His throne as just the contrite spirit. Hence 



186 



HAVE MERCY UP0J5T ME. 



it is also that He devotes so much work to the ac- 
complishment of this bruising of the heart in His 
children. By the law and the sense of guilt, by the 
experience of sin and helplessness, by many kinds of 
adversities and oppressions, by the operations of the 
Spirit and the revelations of grace — by all this and 
very much more, He prepares His own for bringing 
to Him the sacrifice that is acknowledged with the 
token of His good pleasure. 

This word further teaches us to understand how it 
is just in the broken heart and the contrite spirit that 
the freedom and joy of the life of grace will be 
chiefly manifested. This indeed appears a contra- 
diction. So it is for nature ; but certainly not for 
grace. God's thoughts are not as our thoughts, and 
the more we by the Spirit appropriate and reduce to 
practice His thoughts and His word, the more shall 
we experience how wonderfully our deep misery and 
God's high grace are wedded to one another, so that 
His life can be fully revealed only in our death, His 
power in our weakness, His comfort in our sorrow, 
His help in our impotence, His healing in our op- 
pression, His love in our contrition. And we shall 
also experience that the more we die to ourselves 
and yield ourselves willingly to the discipline of the 
Spirit, by which our spirit shall be continually more 
and more broken, so that all of its own hope and 
power shall be taken away, the more shall the con- 
sciousness of God's good pleasure and the experience 
of His nearness to the broken in heart become our 
portion. 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 187 



Beloved reader, who art minded to lift up the peti- 
tion : ' Have mercy upon me, O God,' forget not that 
this utterance is closely connected with it. It is a 
word betokening anxiety; but it is also a word of 
comfort. In the confession of sin, in the striving for 
holiness, in the self-dedication of thanksgiving to 
praise God and make Him known to others, the value 
of this truth is everywhere felt : ■ The sacrifices of 
God are a broken spirit.' And not least is this so 
in the case of the last form of service, that is, the 
joyful glorying in God's righteousness and the pro- 
clamation of His praise. There is nothing that in 
your work for others will enable you so much to find 
grace, and wield influence not only with God but 
also with man, as the holy ornament of a contrite 
spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price : 
* A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt 
not despise.' 



Thirtieth Day. 



Jpafa mmv upon me, 6 (Jloir. 

1 Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion : build thou the walls 
of Jerusalem. 5 — Ver. 18. 

rpHE Psalmist had begun with praying for grace for 
J- himself. With this, however, he cannot end. 
The blessed experience of what grace is, as this had 
been made clear to him in the lines of this prayer, 
makes him think, not only of the transgressors whom 
he is now to teach, but also of all who are partakers 
with him of this grace, namely, the people of God. 
For these also he pours out his heart; he can never 
forget the city of God. This is both one of the 
essential elements of true prayer and a principal char- 
acteristic of the true petitioner. The true suppliant 
is also an intercessor. Would that we could give 
good heed to the important lesson which these last 
words of the Psalm teach us. 

In the first place, the true intercessors for the 
Church of God are those who have first learned to 
pray for themselves. Personal need is the school in 
which true intercessors are brought up. It is in the 

188 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 189 



confession of personal sins, in the conflict for the as- 
surance of a personal interest in God's grace, that the 
secret of believing intercession is learned. There are 
always many who, in the church and the prayer- 
meeting, plead together for themselves and others, 
and yet know but little of personal dealing with God 
in the prayer: 'Cleanse me from my sin.' These 
still know little of true prayer. The sinner must first 
of all feel as if he were the only one with whom God 
had to do. He must attain to dealing with God for 
himself alone : then he will learn to understand the 
grace of God, and know how to plead for this bless- 
ing in behalf of the people and the city of the Lord. 
He then obtains, not only courage to speak of God 
to his fellow-men, but also delight in the work ; he 
feels, too, that he has power to speak and plead with 
God in behalf of 'his fellow-men. 

Those who have thus learned to pray for them- 
selves become intercessors of their own accord. Grace 
is not self-seeking. The love of God shed abroad in 
the heart works love to God's people and Church. 
This is true in the ancient people of Jehovah. Think, 
for example, of the prayers of Ezra, Xehemiah, and 
Daniel (Ezra ix., Neh. ix., Dan. ix.), or of the way in 
which the converted Saul of Tarsus bore the conore- 
gations of God on his heart. It is on this account 
that such suppliants are called ' watchmen on the 
walls of Jerusalem,' ' the Lord's remembrancers' 
(Isa. lxii. 6). It is a part of the wonderful honor 
which the grace of God bestows, that God makes us 



19G 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



fellow-workers with Him, and that He should use us 
in awakening, not only men, but also Himself. He 
is prepared to take counsel with us, and at our urgent 
request, He will bestow blessing. Hence it will 
always be seen that, as soon as there are many in a 
congregation that, in their own experience, learn to 
understand the grace of God as exhibited in this 
Psalm, the prayer-meeting will speedily furnish evi- 
dence of the fact in the growing use of the petition : 
' Do good unto Zion.' 

It is, however, not merely the experience of the 
grace of God in the deliverance from personal sin 
that thus stirs up to prayer. There is still something 
more. David felt himself to be one with the people, 
and fearing lest his sin might possibly prove injuri- 
ous to the city as a whole, he prayed that these hurt- 
ful consequences might be averted. And thus is it 
with every true suppliant. Mindful of the terrible 
power of sin to carry infection and desolation far be- 
yond the sphere in which it had its origin, the inter- 
cessor entreats the Lord to turn aside the dreaded 
evil, and, notwithstanding his sin, to do good to Zion 
according to His good pleasure. 

' Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion.' It is 
to God's good pleasure in Zion that intercessors ap- 
peal when they ask Him to do good to her. As in 
the prayer for grace the Psalmist appeals to God's 
loving-kindness and the greatness of His compassion, 
so here also he turns to God's good pleasure in His 
people. He has not to stir up God to show favor ; 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 191 



he has not to awaken dispositions in God that are not 
already in existence. No : it is what he knows God 
to be that gives him power and courage to pray. 
Would that we could never forget this. Our strongest 
argument in prayer is the being and the heart of God. 
The more we cleave to what God has revealed to us 
concerning His feelings towards His people, and to 
His purposes and promises, the more shall we feel the 
power to pray. The good pleasure of God towards 
Zion will be the ground of our hope, the measure of 
our expectations, and the strength of our assurance 
of faith. Were our souls only more fully possessed 
by this conviction, how thoroughly should we feel 
ourselves aroused by the wonderful thought that that 
good pleasure waits upon our poor prayers, and will 
act according to them, to pray more earnestly : ' Do 
good unto Zion.' 

This great comprehensive beneficence is expressed 
in the words : ' Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.' 
That petition includes building up, where they were 
not yet completed ; rebuilding, where they were 
broken down by hostile attacks ; outbuilding, where 
they had become too narrow for the growing number 
of inhabitants. It includes prayer for the new spir- 
itual growth and progress of the congregation of the 
Lord, for the maintenance of God's authority and 
truth over against the hostile powers of unbelief and 
the world, and for the extension of the kingdom of 
God by the ingathering of those who do not as yet 
know him. 



192 



HAVE MERCY UPON ME. 



He that really knows the grace of God, and has 
endeavored to understand what His plan and good 
pleasure are with respect to the city which He has 
had prepared for His habitation, will certainly feel 
how suitable and necessary this prayer is in our time. 
How little does Zion, the city of God, the dwelling- 
place of the Most High, exhibit the splendor of the 
Xew Jerusalem that once descended from heaven 
(Rev. xxi. 10). In the midst of severe toil and hot 
conflict, and much disappointment and numberless 
hindrances, living stones are being brought in, and 
the walls slowly rise. There is need of the earnest 
and urgent prayer: ' Build Thou the walls of Jeru- 
salem.' Believers, who in this Psalm have learned 
to taste something of the grace of God, make this 
w T ord also your own. In view of the declining life 
of the people of God, and their failure in powerful 
growth in grace, in view of the growing fury of the 
onsets of unbelief and the service of the world, in 
view of the needs of millions that do not yet know 
the Lord, we pray you, let the grace shown to you 
rouse you to the persistent supplication: 6 Do good 
in Thy good pleasure unto Zion : build Thou the 
walls of Jerusalem. 5 



Thirty-First Day. 



Jpafcre mertg upon me, © (loft, 

* Then shalt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in 
burnt -offering and whole burnt-offering : then shall they offer 
bullocks upon Thine altar/— Ver. 19. 

ITTHEN God in His good pleasure shall do good to 
" Zion, and shall build the walls of Jerusalem, a 
glorious time will dawn for the city and the people 
of God. Then, says David, shalt Thou delight in the 
sacrifices which shall be brought to Thee, and then 
shall the people also have delight and offer them with 
gladness upon Thine altar. In a preceding verse he 
had said: ' Thou delightest not in sacrifice.' In that 
utterance we found a proof of the deep spiritual in- 
sight that David had obtained into the insufficiency 
of the old covenant sacrifices. God could not take 
delight in these offerings as such, that is, as the work 
of man, coupled with so much unrighteousness that 
they could not take away, and with so much self- 
righteousness that found its nourishment in them. 
He had prepared for Himself something higher and 
better, namely, true obedience and the all-sufficient 

193 



194 



H&VE MERCY UPON ME. 



sacrifice of His Son (Ps. xl. 7, 8 ; Heb. x. 5-10). But, 
lo ! David now understands by the self-same Spirit 
that had made known to him the hidden wisdom of 
the previous portion of this Psalm, that, when once 
Zion should again be visited by God, and the good 
pleasure of God towards her be made manifest, He 
should again take delight in the sacrifices of right- 
eousness. 

Very important lessons are taught us here. We 
see, first of all, how the worth of our religion de- 
pends wholly on our relation to God. The very same 
Psalm which says : ' Thou delightest not in sacrifice, 5 
says again at a later turn : ' Then shalt Thou delight 
in the sacrifices of righteousness. 5 In the interval 
betwixt these two statements, a momentous change 
must be regarded as having taken place. Sin having 
been atoned for, the good pleasure of God must now 
rest upon Zion, and her sacrifices must be acceptable 
to Him. .No longer brought to take away unright- 
eousness, or to work out self-righteousness, but as a 
symbol of the self-dedication and thanksgiving of a 
justified people, — as ' sacrifices of righteousness, 5 they 
are such as God must really ' take pleasure in. 5 This 
teaches us something which is of the utmost import- 
ance in our intercourse with God ; this, namely, that 
the value of all our works is defined by our relation 
to God. If we are not yet reconciled to God, if we 
have not yet received the atonement and forgiveness 
of sins in Christ, then our best works cannot be well- 
pleasing to God. If, on the other hand, we have be- 



THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. 195 

come the children of God, and the relation betwixt 
Him and us is as it should be, then He takes delight 
in our service and our works, and they are acceptable 
to Him. Hence it is said, as in the words of David, 
6 Thou delightest not in sacrifices,' but also again, 
6 Thou shalt delight in sacrifices' : just as in the ut- 
terances of Paul, we read first, 6 Not of works, 5 but 
then again as pointedly, ' Created unto good works' 
(Eph. ii. 9, 10). The very same works that, before 
faith, are worthy to be rejected, are, after faith, and 
in virtue of it, an acceptable service to God. 

Thus we learn further that in all our religion the 
great question ought to be, whether the Lord takes 
pleasure in it, or whether our work is well-pleasing 
to Him. That Cain presented a sacrifice availed him 
little : God did not look upon his sacrifice. That we 
are earnest and zealous in religion avails us little : the 
great question is whether He takes delight in us and 
our sacrifice. 

It is not how we pray and what we do that can 
bring us blessing: but the fact that God accepts our 
praying and our doing, and sends an answer to it. 
Many set themselves in a state of contentment when 
they think: that they have done their best to serve 
God and obtain rest in this duty. With a living faith 
it is not so. It will not merely set the wood in order 
and slay the victim, but it will crave the fire from 
heaven to consume the sacrifice. It is bent on having 
a token for good, the light of God's countenance, a 
proof that the sacrifice is well-pleasing and acceptable. 



196 



HAVE MEECY UPON ME. 



It is not merely afraid of a self-willed religion, it not 
merely seeks to serve God with all earnestness in the 
way and after the manner ordained by Hirn ; but it 
still desires to know on every occasion that God takes 
delight in its sacrifices. And by the secret and blessed 
exercise of fellowship with the High Priest in heaven 
which the witness of the Holy Spirit maintains in 
living activity with our spirit, this is really bestowed 
on faith. The tender-hearted believer may know it : 
' Thou delightest in this sacrifice. 5 

David's word teaches us still further, that, when 
God thus takes delight in the sacrifices of righteous- 
ness, His people also will take delight in them. ' Then 
shalt Thou delight ' : ' then shall they offer bullocks.' 
Yes : it may be easily conceived that there is nothing 
that shall more powerfully incite to a joyful and 
abounding service than the blessed certainty that God 
has delight in it. Does not many a one learn by ex- 
perience to testify that it is just this that renders him 
indolent and dispirited in seeking the Lord : the fact, 
namely, that he did not know whether this search 
was acceptable, the fact that he obtained no token 
that God took delight in it ? On the other hand, 
when we know that God does delight in our effort, 
and that every sacrifice is a joy to the Eternal, how 
does the heart become fired and strengthened for 
duty, and the sacrifice itself becomes a joy and a de- 
light. Yes : the secret of true religion, of a joyful 
self-surrender and an entire obedience, is the joy of 



THE SACRIFICE OE THANKSGIVING. 197 

the assurance that God delights in our sacrifices. 
i Then shall we offer bullocks upon Thine altar.' 

Glorious time : when in the light of God's friendly 
countenance His people shall joyfully and willingly 
dedicate themselves wholly to Him. May the thought 
of it awaken in us with new earnestness the petition : 
' Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion : build 
Thou the walls of Jerusalem.' ' Then shalt Thou de- 
light in the sacrifices of righteousness : then shall 
they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.' And may 
every approach to God with the prayer, 6 Have mercy 
upon me, O God/ and every experience of the answer, 
strengthen us in the confidence that even in response 
to our prayer God will thus deal with Zion and do 
good to her, and that the hour shall be hastened 
when His great congregation shall bear the name of 
Hephzi-bah : *My delight is in her' (Isa. lxii. 4). 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY, 

PKESIDEOT OF THE CAPE GE^EBAL MISSION. 



[Beprinted from the "South African Pioneer."] 

THE name of Andrew Murray has been for many 
years well known throughout South Africa, 
and later, through his books, there are few names 
more familiar in the English-speaking world than 
that of the author of "Abide in Christ." 

The father of Andrew Murray came out from 
Scotland nearly seventy years ago, and became an 
honored minister of the Dutch Reformed Church 
at Graaff-Reinet. His work was richly blessed, but 
his great legacy to South Africa was his family, 
five of his sons becoming devoted ministers of the 
Dutch Reformed Church, and four of his daugh- 
ters ministers' wives, while another daughter is the 
principal of a large school for girls. 

The second son, Andrew, bearing his father's 
name, was bom at Graaff-Reinet May 9, 1828, and 
it is this Scotch Africander with whom we are now 
concerned. 

When his eldest brother was sent home to Aber- 
deen to complete his classical studies, Andrew, then 
only nine years of age, accompanied him. Roth 
brothers became in time students and graduates of 
Marischal College. Here both the lads drank deep- 
ly of the missionary and evangelistic spirit they had 
already received from their revered father. Here 
they frequently heard William Burns, afterwards 
the noble missionary to China, and they caught not 
a little of his heroic spirit. 

After graduation they went to Holland to com- 
1 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



plete their theological education at the University 
of Utrecht. Here they were soon the centre of a 
circle of earnest disciples, and both took an active 
part in the formation of a Students' Missionary 
Society. 

When the curriculum of Utrecht was finished, 
they returned to South Africa, the elder brother 
ultimately becoming a Professor in the Dutch 
Theological Seminary at Stellenbosch, while the 
younger, Andrew, was appointed the ministei over 
what is now the Orange Free State. Mr. Murray 
was only twenty years of age when he was or- 
dained to this work, and for a long period he was 
the only minister in this wide territory, but he was 
not dismayed. Fixing his headquarters at Bloem- 
fontein, he entered upon his labors with untiring 
energy. 

The farmers were not well pleased with the 
youthful appearance of their pastor, but when they 
heard his first sermon they found there was one 
before them whose youth was not to be despised. 
And when they witnessed the amount of riding, 
preaching, catechising, and family visitation done 
by the young minister, not only in the Free State, 
but beyond their borders in the Transvaal, their 
surprise gave way to esteem. 

The people gladly gathered in large numbers to 
worship with him, generally in the open air, some- 
times under sails stretched as a protection from 
the burning sun. The influence of this activity is 
still felt in the whole district. In travelling through 
the Free State and Transvaal one is continually 
meeting those whom he has joined in marriage, or 
those whom he has baptized ; and many a one 
speaks of him as a spiritual father, and has some 
loving remembrance of his visits. "While thus en- 
gaged in the Free State, Mr. Murray found a help- 

2 



EEY. AKDREW MURRAY. 



meet for himself in the person of Miss Emma 
Kutherfoord, the daughter of the Hon. H. E. 
Rutherfoord, well known as a stanch friend and 
generous supporter of the Lord's work in the 
whole country. It may be readily believed that it 
was to no paradisaic locality that the bride was 
taken, but for the sake of her husband and the 
Gospel of his Master, she bravely faced and started 
all the hardships of life on the frontier. That 
these were often severe enough appears in the fact 
that after some years Mr. Murray was prostrated 
by fever and was long in recovering from the re- 
sults of the ordeal. His physicians declared that 
he would never be a strong man again. But, as it 
proved, this was simply a turning point in what 
was to be a yet more extended service. For the 
young minister shortly afterwards, in 1660, re- 
ceived a call to Worcester, an important inland 
town of Cape Colony, about eighty miles from 
Capetown. He accepted it, and once again found 
cause to praise God, who followed him in his new 
sphere with fresh triumphs of His Grace. It was 
at this time that the great wave of revival which, 
beginning with America and Ireland, and sweep- 
ing over the Eastern World, rolled in gladness also 
over South Africa. There was at Worcester a very 
marvelous manifestation of the convincing and 
converting power of the Spirit of Christ. A mul- 
titude of souls were gathered into the Kingdom, 
and the hands of the Lord's servants were full of 
work. Those who knew Mr. Murray intimately 
speak in the warmest terms of the wise and gra- 
cious influence he exercised at that time in the 
way of endeavoring to seize and turn to the best 
account the spiritual earnestness of the time, and 
yet prevent it from falling into confusion and fan- 
aticism. 

3 



REV. ANDREW MURE AY. 



It was while pastor at Worcester that Mr. Mur- 
ray began to present some of his utterances in 
literary form. Amongst the first of his books was 
a little volume entitled " Waarom gelooft gij niet ? " 
("Why do you not believe ?"), and another named 
"Het nieuw Leven" ("The New Life a series 
of counsels to young Christians who have lately 
entered the narrow way. Both of these, and 
especially the latter, have been much blessed to 
many, and are still widely circulated at the Cape 
and in Holland. As we have indicated, they were 
first written in Dutch. So also were two other 
volumes which he published at this period, " Abide 
in Christ" and "The Children for Christ." After 
remaining at Worcester for four years, Mr. Murray 
accepted a call to Capetown, where he remained 
about the same length of time. The work here 
was felt by him to be encompassed by many diffi- 
culties. There were three Dutch churches in the 
city, in which, according to the method still pur- 
sued in Holland, three ministers preached in turn. 
The arrangement prevented the growth of that 
strong pastoral sympathy which Mr. Murray had 
hitherto found a most valuable element in his 
work. He asked that he might have a church and 
a portion of the people as his own congregation. 
This being declined, he felt free to wait for a door 
of the Word in another quarter. This at last came 
through a call to Wellington, a pleasant town about 
forty-five miles from Capetown, on the part of a 
congregation largely composed of descendants of 
French Huguenot families, who had fled thither in 
the days of their tribulation and become associated 
with the Dutch Reformed Church. It is in this 
sphere that Mr. Murray still lives and works with 
great joy and success. The people have plainly 
inherited the blessing promised to thousands of 

4 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



them that love the Lord and keep His command- 
ments. And this is seen in the fact that again and 
again there have been most blessed times of re- 
freshing and large harvests of souls for the King- 
dom of the Lord. This, under God, is largely due 
to the single-hearted resolve of the pastor to know 
nothing among the people but Christ and Him 
crucified, and to seek above all things }he salvation 
of souls. There are very few ministers of our day 
who have a keener insight into sacred truth. It 
would be a mistake, however, to suppose that, suc- 
cessful as Mr. Murray is as a pastor, he is a pastor 
and nothing more. He has also done a grand 
work as a Christian educationalist. Even in his 
first charge he spared no pains to get good teach- 
ers for his people. And he has pursued the same 
aim ever since. This desire has been fulfilled with 
remarkable success in Wellington. 

Shortly after his removal thither he became ac- 
quainted with the life and work of Mary Lyon, of 
Mount Holyoke Seminary, in America, and became 
fired with the resolve to have a similar institution 
in South Africa, where the conversion and Chris- 
tian education of girls might be made the chief 
aim "This is what I have always wanted," said 
he. " In sending for teachers to England or Scot- 
land, I have no security that they will understand 
this aim, or enter fully into it. I shall send to 
America for teachers." He did so ; and being 
fortunate enough to secure the services of Misses 
Ferguson and Bliss, of Holyoke, he founded in 
1874 the Huguenot Seminary at Wellington, over 
which these ladies still preside. There are about 
two hundred young ladies from all parts of South 
Africa being educated on the methods of Mount 
Holyoke, and in the same spirit. A minister of the 
Dutch Beformed Church at Capetown tells us ; 

5 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



" It is difficult to say in a few words what blessings 
this institution has conferred on South Africa, not 
only by the education in a Christian spirit of many 
hundreds of young ladies, but also by a large num- 
ber of them having become teachers imbued with 
the spirit of the Huguenot Seminary." "The 
story of the conversions and revivals at this insti- 
tution," writes another, " is quite wonderful ; and 
now there are several schools throughout the 
country which look to the Huguenot Seminary as 
their mother, and work on the same principles." 
The most prominent feature in the whole educa- 
tion is the paramount importance attached to 
Christian missions. 

While maintaining this oversight of his flock 
and the Christian schools of the province, Mr. 
Murray is as much as ever bent on the carrying 
forward of evangelization. In this direction he 
has had marvelous blessing. After his work at 
"Wellington became known, no one was in greater 
request for taking part in special services in other 
congregations throughout the country. Often he 
has found many souls just waiting to be brought 
into the Kingdom, and has given the message that 
led them to Christ. With such plain indications 
of the finger of God before him, it is little to be 
wondered at that Mr. Murray should have been 
led to think that he ought to have the work of an 
evangelist occupying a larger portion of his time. 
The way for this was not at first plain. A pro- 
longed illness in 1879, for one thing, interrupted 
this service. But after granting him a remarkable 
recovery from it, the Lord was pleased also to 
show his congregation that this line of effort was 
to bulk very largely in his future work He came 
in great power and Messing to the people. There 
was an ingathering of 30uls such as they had never 

6 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



experienced before ; and then the Church was 
made willing and ready to allow their pastor to 
devote at least half his time to evangelistic work. 
In the prosecution of this service during the last 
six years Mr. Murray has found the Lord making 
manifest the savor of His knowledge by him in 
almost every place he has visited. His tours on 
special missions have of late extended not only to 
the Eastern Province of the Colony, but also to the 
Free State, Transvaal, and Natal. And we are in- 
formed that there are hardly any congregations in 
those different States where there are not found 
those who now look up to him as their spiritual 
father, and who have been helped by his preaching 
on their way Zionward. 

Mr. Murray has also established at Wellington a 
training seminary for missionaries to the Kafirs 
and other tribes. Here a much simpler course of 
study is required than for ordinary pastors. The 
students are ordained simply as missionaries, but 
they do a work which could not be carried on by 
any other agency. Amongst Mr. Murray's own re- 
lations also the missionary spirit is still being 
deeply cherished. It is but recently that one of 
his nephews, Rev. Andrew C. Murray, has gone to 
Lake Nyassa as a missionary of the Dutch Church, 
and is co-operating with the other Scotch brethren 
already there. 

In connection with his work as an evangelist Mr. 
Murray has been led to take a deep interest in the 
movement now everywhere making such progress 
towards lifting up professing Christians to a higher 
plane of spiritual life and service. In this work 
also the Lord has caused His servant to prosper 
greatly. Singleness of eye for the glory of Christ 
in souls is the secret of his success. No attempt is 
made to dazzle by words of wisdom, or by the 

7 



BEY. ANDEEW MUERA5T. 



over-straining of Biblical questions. Everything 
that might attract the hearer to the speaker him- 
self is laid aside. 

And hence some have said about his preaching 
what we have noticed some critics saying of his 
books, that there is a want of zest and brilliance 
in his style. But as one of our correspondents 
says, " I think all will admit that they never hear 
him without being stirred up from the very foun- 
dation, and made to feel as if they were only be- 
ginning the Christian life, and had yet to learn what 
full trust and consecration mean." It is with this 
same power that his last four works — " Like 
Christ," "With Christ," "Holy in Christ," and 
" The Spirit of Christ " — are fraught. All of them 
were written at Wellington, and only after the 
topics they deal with had been studied and medi- 
tated on and spoken about at Christian conferences 
on subjects akin to them. 

So lives and works, then, this faithful servant of 
Christ. He has a remarkable power of winning 
the confidence of men, and we learn without sur- 
prise that even in earlier years he was twice ap- 
pointed a deputy on important missions to England 
in connection with civil questions in this country. 
But the Church is his chosen field of work. Mod- 
erator of Synod for no less than three times, he is 
honored and loved by all his ministerial brethren. 

We consider the Cape General Mission a true 
answer to his many prayers, and his valuable ad- 
vice as our President has been greatly blessed. 



S 



WORKS BY THE REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



ABIDE IN CHRIST. Thoughts on the Blessed Life of 
Fellowship with the Son of God. LIKE CHRIST. 
Thoughts on the Blessed Life of Conformity to the 
Son of God. A Sequel to " Abide in Christ. " By the 
Rev. Andrew Murray. Forty-fourth Thousand. 
Two volumes in one, 16mo, cloth, silver top and 
stamping, in slip case, $1.00. 

" The stamp of experimental knowledge is clearly seen from 
the beginning to the end of the book. It canuot fail to stimu- 
late, to cheer, and to qualify for higher service."— Rev. 0. H. 
Spurgeon. 

"The author has done his work in a devout and admirable 
way. Read with an inquiring and docile spirit it will confirm 
the faith, brighten the hopes, and increase the joys of the 
Christian by leading to a more complete realization of the 
closeness of the union, the intimacy of the fellowship, and 
the oneness of life and interest which are the exalted privileges 
of those who obey this injunction and abide in Christ."— 
Interior. 

"A rich and reverent volume, with a short chapter for each 
day of a month, the prayerful reading of which will help to 
hallow the month." — Congregationalist. 

THE CHILDREN FOR CHRIST. By Rev. Andrew 
Murray. 16mo, cloth, $1.25. 

" Fifty-two short sermons on the duty of parents to their 

baptized children Twenty years ago the original of the 

present work was published in Dutch, in meditations for a 
month, each containing a shcrt summary of some sermon. 
Since that time many new subjects have been treated, and the 
author has been led to prepare a series of fifty-two sermons — 
one for each week. He has done this 4 in the hope that pome 
Christian parent?, who feel the need of such help, may be led 
once a week to read and meditate and pray together over some 
of the precious words of God with regard to their calling.' 
Each sermon concludes with a short prayer appropriate to 
itself. The work is admirable in, and well adapted to, its holy 
purpose." — Observer. 

" The author seems to have had a divine vocation in writing 
this book, and thousands of parent* ought to derive blessings 
from it for their children." — Evangelist. 

THE NEW LIFE. Words of God for Young Disciples 
of Christ. 16mo, cloth, $1.00. 
" This little work is more elementary than the other writings 
of the author, because it is specially designed for young dis- 

9 



WORKS BY THE RET. AXDBEYV MURRAY. 



ciples. Some of the subjects treated are ' Faith, ' 4 The Power 
of God's Word,' 'The Confession of Sin,' 'Holiness,' 'Humil- 
ity,' ' Personal Work,' 'Prayer,' 'Obedience,' etc. 

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. Thoughts on the Indwell- 
ing of the Holy Spirit in the Believer and the Church. 
16mo, cloth, $1.25. 

"In this volume are contained thirty brief essays upon 
various aspects of the work of the Holy Ghost. The aim of 
the author is to comfort, console, strengthen, inspire, and lift 
up the believer by showing: the all-sufficiency of the Holy Spirit 
to guide the souf in righteousness. The cultivation of practical 
piety is the object sought." — The Christian Union. 

WITH CHRIST in the School of Prayer. Thoughts on 
our Training for the Ministry of Intercession. HOLY 
IX CHRIST. Thoughts on the Calling of God's 
Children to be Holy as He is Holy. By the Ret. 
Andrew Murray. Fourteenth Thousand. 16mo, 
cloth, silver top and stamping, $1.00. 

"It is under the impression that the place and power of 
prayer in the Christian life is too little understood that this 
book has been written. I feel sure that as long as we look on 
prayer chiefly as the means of maintaining our own Christian 
life, we shalf not know fully what it is meant to be. But when 
we learn to regard it as the highest part of the work intrusted 
to us, the root and strength of all othtr work, we shall see that 
there is nothing that we so need to study and practice as the 

art of praying aright Christ teaches us to pray, not only 

by example, by instruction, by command, by promises, but by 
showing us Himself, the everlasting Intercessor, as our Life" — 
Extract from the Preface. 

BE PERFECT. A Message from the Father in Heaven 
to His Children on Earth. 16mo, cloth, 75 cents. 

HAVE MERCY UPOX ME. The Prayer of the Peni- 
tent in the Fifty-first Psalm explained and applied. 
16mo, cloth, $1.00. 

THE HOLIEST OF ALL. An Exposition of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews. Small 8vo, cloth, $2.00 net. 

In this exposition the author seeks to answer the common 
questions : u What is the want in our religion, that, in so many 
cases, it gives no power to stand, to advance, to press on unto 

10 



WORKS BY THE REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



perfection? And what is the teaching that is reeded to give 
that health and vigor to the Christian life that, through all ad- 
verse circumstances, may be able to hold fast the beginning 
firm to the end ? " 

HUMILITY. The Beauty of Holiness. 24mo, cloth, 
50 cents. 

LET ITS DRAW NIGH ! The Way to a Life Abiding 
Continually in the Secret of God's Presence. 16mo, 
cloth, 50 cents. 

WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE ? Words of Instruc- 
tion and Encouragement for all who are seeking the 
Lord. 16mo, cloth, 75 cents. 

WHOLLY FOR GOD. The True Christian Life. A 
Series of Extracts from the Writings of William 
Law, selected and with an introduction by the Ret 
Andrew Murray. 12mo, buckram cloth, $1.75. 



11 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: June 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 



